Offseason moves?

I want Benny. He's being wasted sitting on a bench pretty much anywhere imo.

Salary was a little high but maybe with a championship we could sign him cheaper? CCL play too.

 

I read an article last night (Pro Soccer Talk or Fox Soccer) implying that the way the press release or statement was worded, Benny was headed back over to Europe because it was stated the Revs would retain his rights if he returned to MLS.

Benny shows tremendous skill during stretches but is he worth the $350-$400K salary he gets in MLS? 18 months ago when he was coming back I think we really needed him, now I don't think so (recall that in May-June 2011 we were struggling but were in the middle of the Koke fiasco and had just signed Watson and had no trade chips).

As far as other moves, the Dynamo and Galaxy had their deadlines for certain things extended until next week after the final. I suspect that the team has made all of their decisions already on releases or qualifying offers (Canetti said as much last night on the radio show) and I think that re-entry draft is the 10th or something.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Dom was coming up with a plan to get Benny to Houston and turn him back into a star.

 

https://twitter.com/SoccerByIves/status/275346044408172544

I wonder if they don't expect Hainault back or we're looking for a depth option or trying to upgrade our back line. I don't think we can do much better than Boswell/Taylor, Ashe has been solid, and Sarkodie is really growing into his position.

 

Well, this is the thread to talk it and I mentioned it earlier but we do have roughly $2 million in allocation this offseason to play with. Granted it can only be applied to new contracts but, think about the possibilities.

Before thinking trades, it probably wouldn't hurt to start with possible cuts/trades/waives/GA first. Our roster is pretty full as it is and we've some interesting raises coming up in '13.

First, these players will absolutely cost us more next year than this*:

Will Bruin
Oscar Garcia
Ricardo Clark
Adam Moffat

I think we can all agree that those players are coming back next year, so we need to find space to squeeze them under the cap.

We do need to come to some decision on two players who will shape what we are going to be able to do this offseason and Offebacher had it right when talking to him last night in that we need to know sooner rather than later.

Brian Ching
Luiz Camargo

Both are very expensive subs to have. A luxury for sure and glad to have them but it does limit other avenues we can take. If I had to guess, I'd say we try to unload Luiz somehow, especially if Giles continues to show improvement.

Players like Mac, Colin Clark, Weaver, and Watson are probably on the bubble and there are arguments to be made about whether they are worth keeping or not.

Lastly, we have Andre at the end of his contract. He started off good this season and dropped off a bit at the end but I still think he is vital to have in that he can play RB and CB very well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we make a ton of moves. I don't think we need to. I'm just pointing out the facts. We have a very tough series coming up in February against Santos and we will most definitely need an upgrade at striker if nothing else to partner with Bruin (hope Calen is ok).

 

As for Benny: I don't think we need him. He'd be great to have and plug in as a AM with Rico behind him but that is not an essential play for us to make. We can do just fine with the midfield we have.

If things don't plan out in other aspects, yeah, sure we can make a go of it but I don't think we need Benny. Had we not gotten Garcia, it'd be a different story though.

 

The corpse on the 2012 season isn't even cold yet but what the hell on a few things:

Free Agents/Contracts Up:
Colin Clark - not a bad CCL or reserve guy, but with a glut of mids, not worth offering a deal since he won't see the field much in 2013
Hainault - boy, a year ago you would have tried to extend his deal. Now, I think you try to bring him back as your 3rd choice central defender and if you paid ERob $120K his last year for the same role, you do that for Andre. But do you pay him $150K for that role? Will he take a cut?
Weaver - decent backup at forward, bring him back if he fits the budget. We could do worse for the money
Kandji - my guess is Mac's salary expectations are probably different than what the team or most of us would think it should be. Just don't know on him, offers something different but also kills the attack other times. Somewhere I read Dom really likes his game.

Untouchables (or the way I think the Dynamo see them if they have reasonable salaries or options):
Ashe, Carr, Davis, Bruin, Sarkodie, Boniek, Boswell, Taylor, Hall, Deric, Rico, Moffat, Creavalle

Question Marks:
Ching - did he score a goal from the run of play? Still shows flashes of skill but isn't a 90 minute player and his body is beat up. $200K for a 35 minute a game player is tough. I say give him the FO job but tell him to stay in shape.
Camarago - the toughest call for me. Appears to have a great skill set but a very high salary for his role, including not making the gameday 18 several times late in the year. 50/50.
Barnes - shows that extra bit of skill & savvy of an English veteran yet also seems to loaf on defense. But he's only 24!!! Who knows what his option salary is for next year. Hard to grade him on only some sub appearances late season. To me he's worth bringing back if reasonable.
Dixon - clearly lost ground in the pecking order. Not sure how he counts on cap. Maybe he wants a chance elsewhere.
Sturgis - seems like a good team guy and mid/backline depth.
Watson - my favorite Glenn Davis' line ever after a Watson goal & PK conceded in Columbus: "that is the yin and yang of JeVaughn Watson". I thought he played better and smarter this year when he appeared, but he didn't play much. Drives us all nuts at times but then shows huge flashes of speed and skill. He friggin' starts for Jamaica, a good CONCACAF side, but can't make our gameday roster half the time.

By the way, I have no idea how any of the above guys are other than Ching in terms of the locker room and team. That obviously plays a role.

Developmental/Cheap Guys:
Ownby, Soto, Rolfe, Marschider - they were real high on Ownby then I think he got hurt and never made the gameday 18 again. I presume they are all cheap and we need to fill out the roster.

 

I hope Soto develops and becomes a starter for us, I really like him.

A nice change this off season is that we don't have to worry about an expansion draft. I hate those years when we have to worry and speculate about who we should sacrifice. I really really hate that.

Another thing that occurs to me, for all those complaining about AEG and their LAG favoritism, it really could be worse. Back several years ago when Necaxa and América had the same owners (not sure if they still do) Necaxa was usually in the same boat as Houston. They were just as successful as their more popular sibling, but every year their best players would be raided and put with América. Think how that would be, a January announcement that Tally, Brad and Boniek were going to The Galaxy. There would be violence 5* wouldn't be able to control.

 

Yeah, I would not have thought looking for defense would be our first move in the offseason. If you take the likely 2013 salary for Boswell-Taylor-Ashe-Sarkodie and even add Hainault into that figure, you've got one of the top 4-5 backlines in MLS at a decent salary cap number. It may be a Hainault replacement. It almost HAS to be a centerback as well, I can't see where we would find as good a value as Ashe & Sarkodie going into next year.

 

twitters be saying its just that we finally ink the homegrown/GA deal with Sebastien Ibeagha, Which is barely "wheelin and dealin" in my mind, its just a reiteration of how well-placed and smart this team is, week out from losing in the championship, and you get reminded that you have a u20 international DB/DM waiting in the wings. Ching putting Bruin under his wing, and now maybe put Ibeagha under Clark's wings? yea. awesome.

 

Release the crocken!

Sorry, I've just always wanted to do that.

 

First off, I don't think we have near $2 million. My understanding of the CCL money is 200k on the top range which gives us about 500k in total CCL money (150 group, 200 Qfinal, 150 group again) plus Cameron's money. So about 1.1-1.2 million. We have no more "we suck money" from two years ago.

I got that number from a GM that inadvertently let it slip (the 200k number). It was posted last year in the MLS NA thread.

 

My thoughts on the off season. In my scenario - we need defensive depth QUICK. We also STILL need one upgrade up top. Beyond that, I think we look for depth anywhere it comes.:

Forward
Staying
Bruin - will be back but will be costly as compared to the nothing he hits the budget for now.
Carr - if healthy will be back
Ching - the announcers stated he wants to play another year (during the Cup) I expect him back at 150k or so.
Rolfe - any idea what he is up to?

Unknown
Kandji - this is the one that may get away depending on expectations. I am actually ok letting him test the waters if he wants much more than he gets now.
Weaver - I think is gone especially if Ching stays

Midfield
Staying
Davis - back, but interested to see how much of a raise his contract calls for
OBG - back, I don't think his number changes much
Rico- same as OBG
Moffat - already know he is back
Dixon - I assume he will be back
Ownby - doesn't cost anything and showed mid season sparks of fun.
Soto - again low cost but if he cannot get into the 18 at some point Dom may let him get playing time elsewhere. I think he is back for one more
Sturgis - I am calling him a near lock. He is too versatile and not overly expensive. Plus he can fill in at Defense.

Unknown
Watson - really dropped off the landscape. If we need to clear cap I can see another causualty here.
Barnes - Like him on the ball. Not sure Dom is in love with his defense. May be expendable at that salary number
Camargo - One of the more skilled players. I contend he only comes back under a renegotiated deal. Pricey for a player off the bench
C. Clark - I think he may move on given the play of Ownby and Creavalle.

Defense
Staying
Ashe - Going no where
Boswell - retiring from here
Sarkodie - man he came on strong, Lets hope he is still GA
Taylor - Going no where
Creavalle - whether in defense of D Mid, will be back.
Keepers - not going anywhere but I wonder what Deric's contract status is at this point.

Unknown
Hainault - I actually think should he get offers overseas, he will move on somewhere to get back to playing his natural position in the center.

 

Watson, Dixon, C. Clark and Weaver are the ones that I really wonder about.

Watson is needed for CCL.

Dixon, Clark, and Weaver are resverve players who may want to find more action, or not.

 

Dixon I think is fine provided he is still on a HG contract. Watson, C. Clark, Weaver fall into that category of "you have to make some room somewhere in the budget."

 

That CCL allocation money figure seems more reasonable. I asked about it over in the N&A thread and someone responded with a similar figure. It was supposed to be for depth or to keep a few more guys on the roster under the cap.

 

Yeah, I think the 600k number may be an accurate number for the total of our upcoming CCL money but I would be SHOCKED if it were a per phase number. That runs counter to the stated goal and everything I have heard in the past.

 

OK, so this is a little earlier than I normally do this sort of math, BUT here is an estimate of where we stand against next year's cap. If you assume that Bruin is no longer GA; the team we have RIGHT now would be over the cap after automatic raises. Of course we have some amount of allocation, but theoretically you cannot use that on existing players so we need to make room off the current roster before considering adding more. Here are some of the numbers. Keep in mind, this is an estimate as we do not have the salaries that ACTUALLY hit the cap, only the player union numbers which are not the same.

SALARY BUDGET:
Same Team
$370,000 over next year's budget (assumes Sarkodie still GA but Bruin graduates)

Adjusted Team based on My opinion above
$244,000 under budget (assumes Andre, Weaver, Watson, C. Clark gone. Ching at 150, and Kandji with a modest raise)

More adjustments
$606,000 under budget (assumes the above plus Camargo and Barnes gone)

I cannot calculate every scenario which is why this is earlier. But you can see, even though we have a great stable of core and young talent, the MLS rules dictate you have to make multiple changes each year in order to fill holes. Even with 6 guys gone and a renegotiated Ching, we still would have minimal Budget room. Of course we have the allocation for new players as well but you may not want to spend that all in one year else you build a team that you are forced to blow up the next year due to budget. Also, if Sarkodie graduates, it tightens the pressure more.

 

Also, folks need to understand that allocation money can be limited in how it is used. The MLS rules (I say that sort of loosely) say that allocation money is only supposed to be for signing players new to MLS, re-signing existing players, buying down the DP cap charge, and transfer fees or options on 1st year players (the line from the MLS site says it differently).

For example, I don't think we can just apply $50k of allocation money to make Boswell's cap hit smaller for 2013. Allocation money is designed to make teams improve, not just stay put.

I think of it as semi-restricted cash. Properly managed you can use it for many things, you just have to structure it right.

 

This is an important point. So in the case that you want to keep a team mostly together; you may have a lot of cash but no place to use it. Unless we clear a LOT of roster spots, we likely will not use most of that allocation next year.

 

i'm glad you exist so i don't have to type all this out. pretty much agree with you, but i wanted to add that i believe Andre Hainault to have substantial MLS trade value. do we know when his contract expires?

here's a guy that had playing time in Europe, one season removed from an outstanding season and only 26 years old. if i was a the Dynamos GM i would completely bend over another team that had defensive issue for 1.5 quality players + allocation money (just to show off). i think some fans think to Dynamo oriented when thinking of the value of players. you have to remember that if Taylor wasn't here or being functional or if Sarkodie hadn't risen Andre Hainault would of been a 34 game quality starter. he's been nudged off the the starter's list but Mr. Hainault is still a 34 game starter in this league (somewhere).

 

The reason I estimate him as likely gone . . his contract expires now. Of course that means no trade value. It comes down to whether he gets offers based on being an international CB or not. If he does, I think he is gone. If not, I think we re-sign him.

 

First move the team needs to be seperated from AEG.

 

Tend to agree (with the ownership group not AEG), but probably shouldn't waste our time hoping. I gave my opinion when the rumors came out - and I still stand by my supposition is that nothing will happen until the AEG mega sale is done - so at least a year.