(Reuters) - Former All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana was traded by the Los Angeles Angels to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for minor league reliever Brandon Sisk.

The 29-year-old Santana was also offloaded for cash considerations after the Angels exercised the right-hander's $13 million option for next season.

"Acquiring someone with the resume of Ervin Santana immediately upgrades our rotation," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement.

"At just 29 years old, he has 96 Major League wins, is a proven innings-eater and most importantly, he competes.

"Ervin has been an All-Star, has pitched in the postseason and has at least 16 wins in three different years, all of which adds a winning mindset to our clubhouse."

Signed by the Angels out of his native Dominican Republic in 2000, Santana has gone 96-80 in eight seasons with the Los Angeles team.

However, he struggled for much of last season, going 9-13 with a 5.16 earned run average while giving up a major league-leading 39 homers.

"He's happy, but it's mixed emotions," Santana's agent, Bean Stringfellow told the Angels official website. "...this has been talked about in print for quite a while so he's had a chance to prepare himself.

"But at the same time, he was signed as an amateur coming out of the Dominican Republic and it's the only organization he's known, so from that regard, it's got to be a little bit of a disappointment, I guess. But when I talked to him, he was genuinely excited."

Santana, an All-Star selection in 2008, threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians on July 27, 2011 when he collected 10 strikeouts in a 3-1 victory.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Simon Evans)