Abreu’s status becoming an issue

ST. LOUIS -- The Dodgers and Scott Boras, the agent for Tony Abreu, are reportedly at odds over the timing and extent of an abdominal injury that has kept the 22-year-old infielder out for nearly a month.

Abreu hasn’t started a game since July 6, when he felt a sharp pain in his side after lunging to field a bunt late in a game against the Florida Marlins. Fearing he might have appendicitis, the Dodgers took him to a hospital, but tests were negative.

Abreu appeared in four more games -- entering as a pinch-hitter but also playing the field twice -- before being sent to triple A on July 18 to clear a roster spot for reliever Roberto Hernandez, but he hasn’t played since.

“He’s on the inactive list at triple A. I’m not going to get into it,” General Manager Ned Colletti said Sunday. “Last thing I saw, he was playing in the big leagues. The last time I saw Tony Abreu he was running first to third and playing in the big leagues.”

But an associate of Boras said it was apparent that Abreu was playing in pain and should have gone on the major league disabled list instead of being sent down. The difference is not insignificant. By being put on the disabled list Abreu would continue to draw a big league salary and accrue major league service time, becoming eligible for arbitration and free agency earlier.

A similar dispute between the Marlins and pitcher Anibal Sanchez led to a grievance’s being filed by the players’ union on behalf of Sanchez, who says he was demoted to the minors despite a shoulder problem that led to season-ending surgery in June. The demotion is costing Sanchez more than $1,400 a day in salary, said union attorney Jeff Fannell, who also said demoting an injured player is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between baseball and the players’ union.

Boras did not respond to repeated calls seeking comment.

After using 17 pitchers in the last four days the Dodgers might be forced to add an arm before the start of the homestand tonight, going back to the 12-man staff they had before acquiring Mark Sweeney over the weekend.

“We’ll see,” Manager Grady Little said. “If we do, we’ll get one.”

Little might also be tweaking the rotation after Mark Hendrickson lasted 2 2/3 innings Sunday, marking the second time in five starts he has gotten fewer than 10 outs. Asked whether the left-hander was in line for his next start, Little demurred.

“At this point, today, yes,” he said.

Since the All-Star break Hendrickson has been 0-3 with a 9.69 ERA, giving up 25 runs and 41 hits in 23 1/3 innings as a starter. The three first-inning runs he gave up Sunday continued a trend in which he has given up 13 runs and 22 hits in the opening frame, posting a 7.20 ERA.

“Maybe [I’ll] tinker with what I do preparation-wise in the bullpen. . . just to find a little bit better rhythm when I get out there in the first inning,” he said. “I’m just making too many mistakes early on and putting us behind. That’s not good for us right now given the way we’re playing.”

Anthony Cafagna’s two-run home run in the fourth inning lifted Philadelphia to a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Senior World Series final Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Outfielder Matt Young was two for three for L.A., which has won five RBI titles in the 16- to 18-year-old division.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com