Barney quickly bouncing back

Darwin Barney was walking around the Cubs clubhouse Wednesday morning sporting a red hockey helmet.

The second baseman took a pitch off his Cubs batting helmet in Tuesday night’s game, and he sat out Wednesday as a precaution. The good news, he said, was that he did not suffer a concussion as a result of being hit on the ear flap by Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett.

“I was self-evaluating when I was standing there,” he said. “I thought I was fine. I started for first base. The way things are these days, they’re very cautious with the head and stuff. They took me out.

“Anytime a ball hits you in the helmet, it’s going to ring your ear. I wouldn’t say I was dizzy. I was more trying to figure out if I was OK. I was trying to figure out where I was at, not like, ‘Wrigley Field.’ I knew where I was at. I thought I was fine.”

Barney was able to joke that he “scored 100” on the medical tests given to him for about an hour after the beaning. He did not require a hospital visit.

“The testing turned out very well,” he said. “Everything turned out normal.”

Jeff Baker played second base in Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Pirates. He rolled over his left wrist diving for a groundball late in the game but said he was OK.

More roster shuffling:The Cubs continued making roster moves in the wake of this week#146;s trades. They optioned pitcher Casey Coleman to Class AAA Iowa and recalled pitchers Chris Volstad and Alberto Cabrera. Volstad warmed up during the game but did not pitch. He will start Saturday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Cabrera, 23, made his major-league debut in the seventh inning and struck out two in 1 perfect inning of work. Volstad opened the season with the Cubs, and in two stints, he went 0-7 with a 7.94 ERA. He was 3-5 at Iowa, but his last outing was a good one. #147;It#146;s very important for him,#148; said manager Dale Sveum. #147;Hopefully we can get out of him how the threw the other day. He sounded really confident about that the start the other day and how he pitched everybody. He went to left-handers inside. He just went after everybody and didn#146;t really think too much about anything and just dominated the game.#148;Post-deadline talk:Cubs president Theo Epstein said there was interest in left fielder Alfonso Soriano, but that nothing materialized. #147;We had a few nibbles,#148; Epstein said. #147;There was one match of a team that had expressed interest, a place where he would go. But they ended up never making an actual offer.#148;Epstein didn#146;t deny that pitcher Matt Garza#146;s triceps injury hurt him on the trade market. Garza won#146;t start until next Tuesday at San Diego, at the earliest. Garza is not a free agent until the end of 2013, and Epstein was asked again about a possible contract extension. #147;We had talks earlier in the season,#148; he said. #147;They didn#146;t come to fruition. Certainly, there#146;s a time and a place to address an extension again.#148;