BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Dreifort Has Tendinitis in Elbow

Darren Dreifort, the Dodgers’ $1.3-million draft pick, left the Instructional League in Arizona on Friday because of tendinitis in his elbow, according to his father, John Dreifort. Dreifort hasn’t pitched in a game for a couple of weeks.

Dreifort, who was examined by Dr. Frank Jobe last week in Los Angeles, had intended to leave camp this week anyway to attend the Golden Spikes Awards in New York, where he will be a finalist.

“Jobe looked at him last week and didn’t seem to think that it was a problem,” John Dreifort said Saturday. “He threw on the side the past couple of weeks, but didn’t pitch in a game.”

Before Dreifort developed tendinitis in his arm, he had it in his surgically repaired knee, John Dreifort said. Before the Dodgers signed Dreifort, they had his knee examined by Jobe.

“He was OK then,” John Dreifort said. “But then they had him running at camp, and I think the pounding on his knee could have caused the inflammation. He worked out here at home, but he would use Stairmasters, and that worked fine. . . . Maybe when they changed some of his (pitching) mechanics to put less pressure on his knee, it caused what happened in his elbow. I don’t know.”

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Jody Reed told the Boston Herald that he believes he and the Dodgers will be able to come to an agreement. Reed, who wants a three-year contract, said the Dodgers have agreed on the length, but said they had only begun to negotiate money.

‘I think it will get done, but I’ll still file for free agency as soon as the World Series is over,” Reed said.