Cardinals' Aaron Brooks: Dropped from 40-man roster

The Cardinals designated Brooks for assignment Monday.

Brooks and long reliever Packy Naughton were dropped from the active roster, which the Cardinals needed to reduce from 28 to 26 ahead of Monday's game against the Royals. In the case of Brooks, he'll also lose his spot on the 40-man roster, as he didn't have any minor-league options remaining. After agreeing to a one-year, $1.4 million deal with St. Louis in the offseason, Brooks earned a spot on the Opening Day roster but was hit hard across his five relief outings. He'll finish his time in St. Louis with a 7.71 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB across 9.1 innings.