The Chicago Tribune reports that Felix Pie, Rich Hill and Ronny Cedeno are each out of minor league options and "all three figure to be with different teams by the end of spring training."
That seems like a bit much, but clearly they'll be shopped. Pie was a top prospect not so long ago and has hit .300/.353/.478 in 281 games at Triple-A, yet the Cubs have soured on him after 260 poor at-bats through the age of 23. Cedeno held his own in a backup role last season and deserves a chance for regular playing time after hitting .357 with 18 homers and 17 steals in 140 games at Triple-A. And Hill looked like a long-term member of the rotation before falling apart last year. If the Cubs do indeed deal all three, they'll be selling low on an awful lot of talent.
Cedeno should have no problem finding a team. The Padres, Royals, M's and Dbacks should have major interest in him. Hill should also find a job pretty quickly. Only Pie will have trouble finding work. Once a highly touted prospect, Pie has done very little to keep his top prospect status. I for one have not seen anything impressive about him as a Major Leaguer. Maybe the Yankees would take a chance on him. Either way, the Cubs will be clearing a lot of talent before the '09 season.