The Milwaukee Brewers acquired left-handed pitcher Will Smith from the Kansas City Royals on Thursday in exchange for outfielder Norichika Aoki.
Smith went 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA in 19 games this season. He held opponents to a .202 batting average and struck out 43 batters in 33 1/3 innings.
Smith was acquired by the Royals via trade from the Los Angeles Angels in July 2010. He was originally selected by the Angels in the seventh round of the 2007 first-year player draft. He has spent parts of the past two seasons in the major leagues with Kansas City, going 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 35 games, 17 of them starts. He is 6-10 with a 5.48 ERA as a starter and 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA as a reliever.
Aoki, 31, played eight seasons in Japan, winning three Central League batting crowns, six Gold Gloves and seven Best Nine Awards (MLB equivalent is Silver Slugger).
Aoki batted .286 with eight home runs, 37 RBI and 20 steals in 2013. He will be the first Japanese-born position player in Royals history.