Chicago Cubs Baseball

So long Tyler Colvin. Good bye Billy Petrick. Sayonara Jose Ceda.

At least for now.

These three were among the nine players to suffer the first cuts as the Chicago Cubs began trimming their spring training roster on Friday. With the exception of Petrick, a right-hander who saw limited duty with the parent Cubs in 2007, the remaining players were non-roster invitees and assigned to Minor League camp.

Petrick was optioned to Triple A Iowa. The 23-year-old right hander was behind several of the other pitching candidates due to shoulder soreness. Petrick appeared in eight games for the Cubs in ‘07 and recorded a 7.45 ERA in 9.2 innings pitched.

Once healthy Petrick is expected to fit into the Cubs’ future. “We all know when he’s right and he’s healthy, he’s good enough to pitch for us,” Chicago GM Jim Hendry said. “He couldn’t get ready by the end of the month.”

Other players to get zipped from roster included outfielders Colvin and Andres Torres, infielder Bobby Scales and catching candidates Wellington Castillo and Josh Donaldson. The re-assigned pitchers included Petrick, Ceda, Geoff Jones and Esmailin Caridad.

Colvin was the Cubs first-round pick in the 2006 draft and the 13th overall selection. Ceda spent much of last season at Class A Peoria.

The Chicago Cubs roster stands at 50 after the first month of spring training with additional cuts of eight to 12 players expected later this week.