Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen and second baseman Jose Vidro were hoping to avoid surgery this offseason, but it appears that may not be the case.

An MRI last week revealed that Guillen has a slightly torn labrum in his left shoulder. Guillen hurt the shoulder sliding headfirst in a game against the Blue Jays on June 26, but he never went on the disabled list and played with the shoulder problem for the rest of the season.

After the season ended, Guillen tried weight training to strengthen the shoulder, but he underwent the MRI when the pain didn't subside. Guillen is expected to see Dr. John Uribe, the same person who operated on Livan Hernandez's knee last October, on Friday to schedule an appointment for next week.

"The shoulder is pretty damaged and I can hardly lift weights with the shoulder like that," Guillen said. "It's not a big deal. It's going to take a few weeks to rehab the shoulder. Everything will be fine. I was playing with the shoulder during the second half of the season. I'm going to take care of this and be ready for Spring Training."

Vidro was hoping to avoid an operation on his right knee, but he will have arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday, according to a baseball source. Dr. Uribe will perform the surgery.

"The consensus is that they are going to clean up a little scar tissue and get out of there," the source said.

Vidro's knee problems resurfaced when he came off the disabled list in July. After being shelved by an ankle injury between the beginning of May and the beginning of July, the second baseman was limited to 184 at-bats after the All-Star break and just 19 at-bats in September.

Before the season ended, Dr. Tim Kremchek, the team's senior consultant, recommended surgery on Vidro's knee, which was surgically repaired in September 2004. But Dr. James Andrews told Vidro to rest the knee for a week and then start a special exercise program for three weeks.

Vidro took Andrews' advice, but found that his knee still wasn't right after a few weeks of exercise.

In other news, according to a baseball source, the Dodgers called the Nationals to see if they had interest in center fielder Milton Bradley. The Nationals said, "No thanks," in part because they already have a similar highly-charged emotional player in Guillen, according to the source.

The Nationals are looking for a leadoff hitter, but, as of now, have shown no interest in free agent outfielder Kenny Lofton, formerly of the Phillies, or Padres outfielder Dave Roberts.

"I know Kenny Lofton had a good year, but [the Nationals] can do better," the baseball source said.

The Nationals are serious about getting better in the outfield and they have turned their focus to free agent Juan Encarnacion, who played for the Marlins this past season. The Nationals previously tried to acquire Encarnacion before landing Preston Wilson this past July.

Encarnacion hit .287 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs for the Marlins in 2005. He played for general manager Jim Bowden when both were with the Reds in 2002.