Byrnes content with Colorado

DENVER – Outfielder Eric Byrnes made the move few players in their prime would wish for – from a contender to one of the worst teams in baseball.

Call him crazy, but Byrnes said he is happy being with the Colorado Rockies.

“I embrace it,” he said. “It’s not strange. Just the progression of a career.”

Relegated to fourth-outfielder status with the Oakland Athletics, Byrnes said he welcomed the trade to the National League’s worst team, where he’ll use the rest of the season as something of a tryout for the Rockies, or for whichever team wants to pay him the money he’ll surely command in 2006.

A .271 lifetime hitter, Byrnes started for the A’s in 2003 and 2004 and earned a $2 million contract after hitting 20 homers and driving in 73 runs last season.

But this year, he appeared to fall out of favor with manager Ken Macha and was only getting spot duty.

Now, he gets a chance to play center field every day for the struggling Rockies, who acquired the 29-year-old in a trade earlier this month for struggling starter Joe Kennedy and reliever Jay Witasick.

Instead of shooting for a World Series – Oakland is 37-13 since May 29 – Byrnes will be playing for his future. Instead of filling a small role in Oakland, Byrnes will be starting and trying to help Colorado’s younger players.

“I’m very content to be here,” Byrnes said. “People might look at me and think I’m crazy, but I really don’t think the Rockies are that far off.”

A well-paid veteran like Byrnes doesn’t exactly fit in with “Gen R” – the label the Rockies gave to a rebuilding effort that has produced a roster with one star, Todd Helton, and a bunch of raw, untested players, most with less than three years’ experience.

Byrnes takes over in center field for Preston Wilson, one of the team’s few other veterans who was traded in a separate deal with the Washington Nationals.

The new outfielder’s debut with the Rockies has been rocky. He batted .194 over his first 10 games, all on the road.

But manager Clint Hurdle said the team wants to see Byrnes play the 30-or-so games left this season at Coors Field before making a judgment.

“Nobody’s plugged in here in any capacity to be a short-term fix,” Hurdle said. “We need to be aware of the questions that need to be answered for a player with his price tag. Can he play center field? He’s a guy who has had success. He’s a fly ball hitter. Now, the tough question is how that projects to this park.”

Byrnes is part of a Rockies roster than has been tweaked considerably from the one that on Monday played its first game in Denver since before the All-Star break.

Since then, Kennedy, Witasick and Wilson have left. Starting pitcher Jason Jennings has been lost for the season with a broken finger, injured while he was running the bases in Pittsburgh last week.

One player the Rockies acquired in the Wilson trade, pitcher Zach Day, has been optioned to Triple-A while he continues his comeback from an injured shoulder.

Meanwhile, struggling shortstop Desi Relaford has been placed squarely on the trading block and starting pitcher Shawn Chacon has been taken off, in part because of the Kennedy trade and the injuries to Jennings and Day.

Byrnes, who is eligible for arbitration after the season, says he’s content to play out the season with this crew, then see if he’s a fit in the rebuilding project.

“I am happy to be here right now,” he said. “A baseball player in this day and age might as well live for the moment.”