Perez Is Sent to the Bullpen

Odalis Perez returned Tuesday from visiting his ailing mother in a Dominican Republic hospital only to be hit with more bad news.

Aaron Sele had replaced him in the starting rotation.

Perez, who hasn’t pitched out of the bullpen since 1991, will fill a long relief role until he irons out problems with his mechanics that contributed to two consecutive poor outings.

Or until there is a pressing need. Which might be soon considering how poorly Jae Seo pitched Tuesday night.

“Our plan is to get [Perez] back in there [as a starter],” Manager Grady Little said.

Perez talked about his mother’s condition but would not comment on the demotion. His mother, Viterba Amador, spent about five days in the hospital because of what Perez said was a non-cancerous throat condition.

In October 2004, Perez pitched a playoff game against the St. Louis Cardinals with his mother in a Miami hospital undergoing surgery. He said she will travel to Miami soon “to see if she needs another surgery.”

Little believes Perez’s worrying contributed to his poor pitching. In his last two starts, he gave up 13 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. He had won his previous three starts.

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt detected a problem in Perez’s delivery that becomes especially acute with runners on base. His front side has been flying open, causing his arm to drop and his curveball and changeup to flatten.

The bullpen -- not the mound -- is the place to tinker with mechanics.

“There has to be a willingness on his part,” Honeycutt said. “It takes work. Sometimes along the way these things happen to a pitcher. You have to dig deep down inside and get back on track.”

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Shortstop Cesar Izturis said he will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Class-A Vero Beach, Fla., on May 20. After about a week, he will move to triple-A Las Vegas, where he would spend about two weeks.

Izturis, 26, had ligament replacement surgery in his elbow in July. Little asked him several weeks ago to play outfield as well as middle infield upon his return, but Izturis said the topic did not come up during his lengthy conversation Tuesday with the manager.

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Luke Hochevar, the Dodger first-round draft pick in June, touched 97 mph and consistently threw 95 mph in his first exhibition start for the Independent League Fort Worth Cats in front of about 30 scouts.

Hochevar has turned down an offer worth nearly $3 million; the Dodgers retain his rights until shortly before this year’s draft. He is scheduled to make five more starts before the draft.

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A Dodger internal investigation concluded that double-A outfielder Matt Kemp did not take a swing at Birmingham Baron Manager Chris Cron during a bench-clearing melee Saturday. Kemp will not be disciplined. . . . The Dodgers signed veteran reliever Giovanni Carrara, 38, to a minor league contract and assigned him to Las Vegas. Carrara, who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates, made 72 appearances for the Dodgers last season. . . . Utility infielder Oscar Robles was sent to Las Vegas to make room for Perez.