Royals sign Justin Maxwell to one-year contract, avoid arbitration

The Royals and outfielder Justin Maxwell have agreed to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

Maxwell appeared in 75 games last season, 35 with the Royals after being traded from the Astros on July 31.

With the Royals, Maxwell hit five home runs and drove in 17 runs, with no blast bigger than his walk-off grand slam against Rangers reliever Joakim Soria in the 10th inning of the Royals’ home finale on Sept. 22.

Maxwell, 30, has appeared in 321 games in five major-league seasons as an outfielder and designated hitter.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but Maxwell requested $1.7 million in arbitration and the Royals offered $1.075 million.

Last week, the Royals agreed to terms with reliever Tim Collins, first baseman Eric Hosmer, relief pitcher Luke Hochevar and infielder Emilo Bonifacio.

The signings leave the Royals with two unsigned arbitration-eligible players: right-handed pitchers Aaron Crow and Greg Holland.

Holland requested $5.2 million and was offered $4.1 million by the Royals. Crow asked for $1.7 million and was offered $1.28 million. Arbitration hearings begin Feb. 1.

This story was originally published January 21, 2014 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Royals sign Justin Maxwell to one-year contract, avoid arbitration."