OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The Oakland Athletics traded left-hander Ted Lilly to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday for outfielder Bobby Kielty.

The A’s also got cash or a player to be named in the latest moneysaving shuffle of their small-market roster.

Lilly went 12-10 with a 4.34 ERA and 147 strikeouts as the Athletics’ fourth starter last season. He was 6-1 with a 2.06 ERA in his final seven starts of the regular season while emerging as the most consistent starter in Oakland’s powerful rotation during the team’s drive to the AL West title.

“It’s not a painless trade, because Ted was a major part of this club,” A’s general manager Billy Beane said.

“He’s going to be a difficult guy to replace, but just like everything we do here, we have to sort of mix and match.”

Kielty hit .244 with 13 homers and 57 RBIs last season with Toronto and Minnesota. The Twins traded him to the Blue Jays on July 16 for Shannon Stewart.

Kielty has 27 home runs, 117 RBIs and a .367 on-base percentage in three major league seasons – and he’s exactly the type of disciplined hitter favored by the A’s.

“I feel like this is my opportunity,” Kielty said from his offseason home in Canyon Lake, Calif. “I didn’t feel like I had a really huge opportunity with the Twins. This offseason, I’ve felt motivated that this is my chance to have an everyday job.

“I am very patient at the plate and I do draw a lot of walks. I make the pitchers work. It just seemed like Minnesota didn’t really care too much for that. They’re more of a free-swinging club. I feel like I mold a lot better with a club that values what I try to do.”

Beane also was working on a trade with San Diego that would send All-Star catcher Ramon Hernandez and disgruntled outfielder Terrence Long to the Padres for outfielder Mark Kotsay, but no deal had been reached by late Tuesday.

“At this point, let’s just say it’s speculation,” Beane said.

Kielty has long been a favorite of Beane, who swung the deal with Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi – his close friend and former assistant. Kielty also isn’t eligible for arbitration, which will keep his salary down to Oakland-friendly levels.

Kielty could provide pop to one of baseball’s weakest-hitting outfields. Though they’ve made the playoffs four straight times, the Athletics’ run production has declined in each of the last three seasons.

“We felt like we needed some help in the outfield,” Beane said. “It’s been written where we had the least-productive outfield in the major leagues, or close to it. Like many players, he has shown a propensity to get on base at a high rate when he plays.”

Kielty was thrilled by the prospect of having an everyday job. That job could be at any of the three outfield spots: Incumbent right fielder Jermaine Dye and center fielder Eric Byrnes will jockey for playing time with Kielty, who’s mostly been a right fielder in the majors, and possibly Kotsay, a longtime center fielder.

Beane expects right-hander Rich Harden to step into Lilly’s spot in the rotation. Harden went 5-4 with a 4.46 ERA and 67 strikeouts in just 74 2-3 innings after joining the A’s following the All-Star break.

If the season started this week, Oakland’s fifth starter would be Justin Duchscherer, the PCL’s pitcher of the year with Triple-A Sacramento. But Beane said the A’s might sign a free agent starter.

AP-ES-11-18-03 2035EST