Rights May Be Lost to First Draft Pick

Classes begin today at Tennessee, and the Dodgers will be interested in the attendance of one student in particular -- Luke Hochevar, their first pick in the June draft.

The Dodgers have offered Hochevar, the 40th pick overall, about $2.5 million, an increase of about $500,000 in the last week. But the right-handed pitcher, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, is asking for $4 million.

If he attends a class, the Dodgers lose their rights to him. He is expected to wait a few days before starting school, but he must decide soon whether to return for his senior year or continue negotiations.

Hochevar did not return repeated phone calls, but a source close to him said that if he can’t reach an agreement, he will return to school. Dodger scouting director Logan White is not optimistic that a deal will be struck. Hochevar has not returned White’s calls, either.

“There is a strong chance he will go back to school,” White said. “When we took him we knew it would be a possibility. We knew it was a gamble.

“It’s going to take an effort by Luke and his family to get this done.”

Hochevar was 15-3 last season, leading Tennessee to the College World Series. A junior, he was named pitcher of the year by Baseball America. He dropped out of the first round because teams were afraid they couldn’t meet Boras’ demands.

“He’s banking on Scott saying he’ll be able to duplicate what he did last season, get bigger and stronger and get more money next year,” White said. “For that to work, he’d have to be the first pick in the country.”

White said Hochevar could be making a mistake. Last year the Dodgers took Arizona State first baseman Jeff Larish in the 13th round, but he turned down an offer of $650,000 -- an amount normally given to second-round picks -- and returned to school.

This year Larish went in the fifth round and signed with Detroit for $225,000. He is represented by Boras.

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Left-hander Odalis Perez will be sidelined for about three weeks, Manager Jim Tracy said. Perez missed a start Monday because of a ribcage injury and received a cortisone injection Tuesday.

Perez is on the disabled list for the second time this season. He was sidelined from May 15 to July 5 because of shoulder pain and is 7-7 with a 4.83 earned-run average in 17 starts.

Tracy said rookie Edwin Jackson would take Perez’s next start.

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Outfielder J.D. Drew swung a bat and took fly balls for the first time since he broke his left wrist July 3. Tracy said Drew might begin hitting off a tee soon.