Almost by design, this was destined to be the most active offseason in MLS history. In addition to having two teams participating in an expansion draft for just the second time, the league also introduced a pair of Re-Entry Drafts. Those three drafts, alone, have directly or indirectly accounted for nearly 50 player transactions. In all, more than 60 players have either changed teams or been signed from outside the league.
Active MLS Offseason Shows Teams Veering From Cookie-Cutter Path
With all this movement, teams are showing a degree of independence previously unseen in the 15-year-old league. Teams like the Portland Timbers are showing a clear preference to add players from outside of MLS, while teams like DC United and the Colorado Rapids have been stockpiling MLS veterans. The Los Angeles Galaxy seem to be making a clear play to go all-in for 2011, while the Seattle Sounders seem more intent on signing younger players.
Keeping in mind that there’s still almost three months before First Kick and no team currently has enough players under contract to fill its expanded 2011 rosters, here’s a look at the teams taking the most bold approaches to the MLS offseason so far.
There's been nothing particularly sexy about the Dynamo's offseason following their first postseason-less campaign since moving to Houston, but their moves have been bold nonetheless. Not only have they re-signed budding star Geoff Cameron and solid contributors Corey Ashe and Eddie Robinson, but they've also acquired Jordan Graye, Jason Garey and Hunter Freeman.
The prize of the newly acquired trio is Freeman, a former No. 3 overall draft pick who had been playing in Norway for the past two seasons. In Garey and Graye, the Dynamo picked up a pair of players who started 29 matches between them last year and should bolster the depth of a team that was hit hard by injuries a year ago. They’ve also avoided losing much of value this offseason, having lost players that didn’t figure into their longterm plans, giving up late-round picks and trading away some allocation money.
On top of all of that, they also appear to have more salary cap room than any other team. How much money, exactly, they have is hard to pinpoint, but it’s probably somewhere around $1.5 million. That should be plenty for the team to sign a some starting caliber players, as well as a Designated Player.
Los Angeles Galaxy
They've added just two players, but they are names anyone who follows U.S. soccer knows well. Juan Pablo Angel, who has yet to sign, has been the most decorated scorer in MLS over the past four years and Frankie Hejduk has 85 United States men's national team caps. The Galaxy have also re-signed Jovan Kirovski, a 34-year-old, eight-year MLS veteran.
In order to make room for these players, though, they've had to give up Tristan Bowen and Dema Kovalenko, both of whom played significant roles on last year's Supporters' Shield team. The trading of Bowen, a 20-year-old who appears to have a bright future, was the more surprising of these moves and is the one more likely to have a more longterm effect.
With David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle all rumored to be weighing European options, this could all blow up in Bruce Arena's face. Barring the possibility of losing all three players, though, this really looks like the Galaxy are making a play for the MLS Cup in 2011. After losing in the final two years ago and falling short after winning the Supporters' Shield last year, maybe that makes sense. Still, there's something refreshing about seeing a MLS team being so clear about its goal.
Portland Timbers
Even after a spate of signings last week, the Timbers still have just 14 players currently under contract, just six of whom finished last year in MLS. Collectively, their under-contract players have 422 games of MLS experience, an average of 30.1 matches or the rough equivalent of a single MLS season. While the Timbers are unlikely to surpass Toronto FC’s record for MLS debuts (20 during their inaugural season), they do appear poised to put more faith in relatively untested MLS players than other recent expansion teams. Last year, for instance, no team had more than 12 players making their MLS debuts. The Timbers already have signed five players from the second division who have no MLS experience and one from Europe with no MLS experience.
Considering they’ve already gone through three drafts in which they could have added proven MLS talent, it seems likely much of their remaining roster spots are destined to go to players from other leagues. Their next infusion of talent is likely to come on Jan. 13 during the SuperDraft where they have five picks.
If nothing else, the Timbers are being bold. It’s hard to see how this translates into a lot of victories in Year 1, but they’ve compiled a lot of young and interesting players. GM Gavin Wilkinson and coach John Spencer will either be hailed as geniuses or derided as crackpots.
Seattle Sounders
Coming off two straight playoff appearances, but also two straight first-round exits, the Sounders are clearly doing something right, but not enough to satisfy their lofty ambitions. Last season was notable because of the relative lack of change. This year is clearly heading in a different direction.
The Sounders have already acquired four new players and parted ways with four others. They've also re-signed Fredy Montero to a Designated Player contract and agreed to bring back veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller for one last season. With four picks among the SuperDraft's first 29, more new faces are sure to be added to the mix.
The most notable player they've added is Erik Friberg, a 24-year-old midfielder who is currently playing in Sweden's top league. But they've also added O'Brian White (25), Julien Baudet (31) and Danny Earls (21), who all have varying degrees of MLS experience and success.
Chances are, all these new faces won’t suit up for the Sounders and might not all fit under the salary cap. But MLS teams don’t have to be cap compliant until March, so there’s plenty of time to sort this out. Until then, the Sounders will have plenty of time to assess the talent, something many MLS teams have been unwilling to do in the past.
It's tough to make much of the Whitecaps inaugural offseason as a MLS team. They seem to have a plan. I mean, they must, right? They've acquired 16 players, but traded away five of them, leaving them with just 11 players after the Expansion Draft and two phases of the Re-Entry Draft. Five players have been signed from their former Division 2 team and they've also inked U.S. national team veteran Jay DeMerit.
With five picks in the SuperDraft, including two among the first eight picks, they’ll get some more bodies there. Even if all five of those players make the team, that’s still 14 empty roster spots.
As of right now, they still lack a MLS caliber forward and their 28-year-old presumed starting goalkeeper has just eight MLS appearances after spending the last three seasons in the second division. Like their fellow MLS debutants, there’s a certain boldness in this tact. It’s way too early to tell whether this will prove to be an effective way to build a team, but it does take guts to bypass so much proven MLS quality.
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