Oakland, Calif. - The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino (first name pronounced POW-loh) from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations. Espino has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. Right-handed pitcher Tanner Scheppers, currently on option at Round Rock, has been designated for assignment to make room for Espino on the 40-man roster.
Espino, 30, has posted no record with a 6.11 ERA (12 ER/17.2 IP) over 6 games/2 starts with Milwaukee this season in his first major league action. He has seen four stints in the big leagues in 2017: May 19, June 8, June 13-July 2, and July 28-31. Espino was optioned to Colorado Springs on August 1 and designated for assignment while on option on Tuesday. He has spent the balance of the year with the Sky Sox, going 4-2 with a 4.76 ERA (38 ER/75.2 IP) in 16 games/14 starts.
Originally selected by Cleveland in the 10th round of the 2006 June draft out of The Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla., the Panama native also spent time in the Chicago-NL (2014) and Washington (2014-16) organizations before signing with Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent this past offseason.
The Rangers have seven days to trade, release, or outright Scheppers to the minor leagues. He saw his lone stint with the Rangers from June 19-July 1, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 5 relief appearances. This is the second time this season he has been removed from the major league roster, as he was also assigned outright to Round Rock on April 15. Scheppers has an 0-3 record and 5.05 ERA in 30 games/one start with the Express this season.
After today's transactions, the Rangers' major league roster remains at the 40-man limit, along with four players on the 60-day disabled list.