I don’t care what they got in return, the A’s should never have traded Eric Byrnes!

The A’s acquired a right-handed power threat, but they lost one of their most popular players.

Eric Byrnes, who spent much of the season’s first half wondering if he’d be traded, finally received notice on Wednesday. He was sent to the Colorado Rockies in a deal consummated hours after the A’s picked up outfielder Jay Payton from the Boston Red Sox.

Surely they could have completed a deal for additional pitching, if that’s what they think they need, without trading away one of their two or three best players. I know I’ll miss seeing Byrnes’ energetic fielding and baserunning–and I bet the A’s will, too.