Adam LaRoche avoids DL for Washington Nationals for now

Just hours after it was announced that third baseman Ryan Zimmerman would be placed on the disabled list due to a strained abdominal muscle, first baseman Adam LaRoche was said to avoid the same fate temporarily. The free agent signing slightly tore his labrum in his left shoulder during a game against the Marlins and injured his groin running to second base in a weekend game against the Mets, where he was replaced by a pinch-runner (Wilson Ramos). LaRoche expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Phillies, but sat out after a scheduled day off and the position was occupied by Matt Stairs. The 31-year old is a huge reason why the Nationals are where they are right now with a 5-5 record. For a team that led the league in errors in 2009 and 2010, they have not committed a throwing error this year through 10 games and LaRoche is the reason why. Not only does he have more range at first than Adam Dunn, whom he replaced, but he picks the ball out of the dirt, which is very importa...