Baseball: UCLA loses pitcher Felipe Perez to Diamondbacks

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In a move that could produce new tension between college baseball coaches and major league teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks appear to have used a loophole in the new collective bargaining agreement to sign pitcher Felipe Perez, an incoming freshman at UCLA, on Thursday night.

Perez, who attended Anaheim Fairmont Prep, was classified as a free agent because he was not drafted, making him eligible to sign until the first day of school at UCLA. The Diamondbacks signed him for a reported $400,000.

Major League Baseball had established July 13 as the deadline for drafted players to sign, and few colleges expect to lose undrafted players. This could change all that.

‘It could really open up something,’ UCLA Coach John Savage said .

Perez is the third high school pitcher taken away from UCLA by major league teams this summer. Max Fried and Lucas Giolito of Harvard-Westlake were first-round draft picks who signed.

-- Eric Sondheimer