Royals acquire OF Justin Maxwell from Houston in exchange for minor league pitcher Kyle Smith

The Kansas City Royals today acquired outfielder Justin Maxwell from the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Kyle Smith prior to the 3 p.m. CDT non-waiver trade deadline.

Maxwell, 29, was batting .241 in 40 games for the Astros this season with 10 doubles, 2 triples and 2 home runs and 21 runs scored. The right-handed hitting outfielder is batting .302 with a .488 slugging percentage against left-handed pitching this year. He hit 18 homers and drove in 53 runs in 124 games with the Astros in 2012, which included a .272 batting average, .387 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage against southpaws. He's in his fifth Major League season and has with 33 doubles, 29 homers and a .419 slugging percentage in 286 games with the Washington Nationals (2007, 2009-10) and the Astros (2012-13). He's also swiped 24 bases in 31 attempts in his career. Maxwell was a fourth-round selection by the Nationals in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Maryland. He was traded to the Yankees during the offseason in 2011 and claimed off waivers by the Astros early in the 2012 season.

Smith, 20, was the Royals' fourth-round selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. He was 5-4 this season with a 2.85 ERA in 19 starts at Class A Wilmington.