Milwaukee Brewers designate Paolo Espino for assignment to make room for Aaron Brooks

When the Brewers claimed reliever Aaron Brooks on waivers from the Chicago Cubs yesterday, we knew they were going to be forced to DFA someone to make room for Brooks on the 40-man roster.

It turns out that the roster casualty will be Paolo Espino, who's been shuttled between Colorado Springs and Milwaukee a few times this year as an emergency arm and spot starter.

The 30-year-old Espino finally got a chance in the big leagues this year after 10 years in the minors, but struggled in his handful of appearances. In 6 games -- 2 of them starts -- he allowed 12 runs in 17.2 innings, walking 8 and surrendering 5 home runs.

Like many pitchers, Espino's 4.52 ERA in Colorado Springs isn't pretty, but distracts from an impressive 73/14 K/BB rate in 75.2 innings. Still, with a crowded starting pitching picture developing in the Brewers' system, there probably wasn't much room in the future for a career journeyman.

Brooks will go to Triple-A to start with, but it's not out of the question he gets brought up for a look out of the bullpen in September once rosters expand. He hasn't been good for the Cubs this year, but does have five pitches at his disposal and can generate some soft contact.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference