But we're not even building for a 2-3 year window. Again, outside of Price, who have we signed as a free agent we expect to have a significant (positive) impact in 2020?
Three thoughts. I'm good with Kamara as an incoming player. He doesn't need Google Maps to find the opposing goal. I feel better about Mezquida because of the teammate/Kamara connection. I said I wanted at least two solid players and two MLS level prospects this offseason. (I hear ya, Jason, that three would be better. This is the Rapids, so a low bar is still a bit of a reach.) Kamara and Mezquida are one solid player and one decent MLS prospect. There's an easy solution for that. Kamara can score goals. Hudson can talk about goals. Talk's cheap. Hudson can be replaced by anyone from Coaches-R-Us if they lock horns.
Wow, there are a lot of former Rapids on this list. Marc Burch and Jordan Harvey are available. They're both 34 years old, but still could outplay what passes for a back line on the Rapids. Time to put the band back together?
Is that really the case? Three years is pretty standard to implement a new system and create a competitive team. It just feels longer from a Rapids perspective because they have sucked miserably at it. Is "free agency" relevant? If you were to ask Padraig who is part of the long term plan, he'd say Smith, Nicholson, Acosta, Ford, Wilson, and Wynne are part of the equation along with Price. I'm excluding Basset and Vines, though they could come into play in the next year of two if they develop well. It's pretty clear they want 2020 to really be the year where things start to take off. They will likely bring in a #9 and a #10 for DPs next winter (depending on if/who we might bring in as a young DP) and they will be on staggered deals so we don't have the current situation where we don't have to wait for both our current DP contracts to fall off. Kamara was obviously signed to be a bridge between now and when we are able to sign some DPs. His contract ends when he's 36, but by that time we'll already have his replacement(s) on the roster.
Given that we have few resources to trade for impact players and our youth system has been less than stellar so far, I see free agency as the only place to get long-term impact players. Out of that list I'd call Acosta the only impact player and we had to trade our only decent goal-scorer to get him. Lets be honest, from that list only Acosta and maybe Ford start for most MLS teams. In order to get to the point of being a competitive team we need to be adding better players, largely through free agency (or at least, outside the trade/draft MLS systems).
What is the transfer market? When you use the term "free agent" I think "out of contract", and there are basically no good players in that category that can be signed for more than a couple of years....either because they are damaged goods or because they are old. Price and Ford are both rated, and Nicholson has the potential to be as well. I agree with Smith, Wilson, and Wynne though. Also, referring to Badji as a "decent goal-scorer" is a stretch. He wouldn't start on any other MLS team either. He sure didn't do much in Dallas with a better team and system around him. Yeah, so we gotta spend money on transfer fees or grow our own talent to accomplish that. One takes a long time, the other can only be done during two windows during the year.
Sorry, I should clarify that I meant "outside the MLS systems". So either paying transfers or signing free agents. I missed the "and Price", I would include him as well. I'm not sold on Nicholson, he had chances with two bad MLS teams last season and couldn't find a regular set spot in the starting XI.
I’m sorry but I see Price as closer to a Labrocca than a Larentiwitz. He’s fine if he’s the 9th or 10th player on your team. Unless you are a fan of senseless yellow cards. Okay, that’s out of my system. Every now and then I have a Rapids moment.
I view Price as a better player than that, but I'm not sure. I agree the senseless yellow cards and subsequent suspensions are a problem. But funny.
Right now we have 2-4 players we can reasonably expect to be starters on a 2020 playoff or better team: Acosta - If not sold to Europe before next season Price maybe Ford maybe Kamara That means we have 7-9 spots to fill in 3 transfer windows. At minimum we need 2 more 2020 playoff quality starters this window, 2-3 in the summer, and 3 next winter*. That's the bar they've set for themselves with the 2020 talk, that's the bar we should be holding them to. * - Numbers can be reduced if current non-playoff quality players (Nicholson, Vines, Bassett, etc.) develop into playoff quality players
Out of 19 rostered players now only 7 of them predate Hudson. Boateng - Smith signing two years ago Ford - Homegrown signing 2 years ago Gashi - DP signing 3 years ago Hairston - Draft pick 5(!) years ago Howard - DP signing 2.5 years ago Serna - Homegrown signing 6 years ago Sjoberg - Draft pick 4 years ago I wouldn't be shocked to see Hairston and/or Sjoberg traded this offseason so we could start the season with 2 DPs (neither of which the FO really wants anymore), 2 homegrowns, and Boateng that predate Hudson.
We picked up a backup for Howard in today’s Stage 1 of the Reentry Draft selecting Andrew Rawls. He was on the books of NYCFC but spent last season on loan to USL Championship side, Orange County SC.
Just as I type that post......we also just Reacquired Clint Irwin from TFC. We sent TFC a second round pick in this year’s draft. I feel just a little bit better about our backup situation now. Man, I’d love to see Clint get 10-12 matches this season when Howard show his age especially since the schedule, reportedly, will consist of more mid-week matches. With the acquisitions of Rawls and Irwin I would assume Rawls will head to the Switchbacks on loan. It makes sense, as I believe, they only have one GK contracted for next season.
Ugh, Irwin is just a horrible bit of roster building. He's at $220K and is likely to play no more than a handful of games this year. fine, if he was going to be the keeper-in-waiting for Howard's retirement, but he's also in the last year of his contract. Now he'll still be a year short of free agency at the end of the season, so the Rapids keep his rights from a negotiating standpoint, but there's no assurance he'll re-sign here. So essentially we're paying our goalkeepers almost $800K in cap hit next season (and giving up a 2nd round pick) with still no solid plan for 2020.
I agree with your concerns. I’m a little confused, though. From what I’m reading, when selecting a player in Stage 1 you automatically pick up his option but can renegotiate his contract. So does that mean his option, say one year, is exercised at his current price point and the remaining contract can be negotiated?
You can re-negotiate if they're taken in Phase 2 (next week). If they're taken in Phase 1 you automatically pick up their option for the next year or you must extend them a bona fide offer if they're out of contract.
But we didn't technically take him in the reentry draft did we? We traded for his rights. I assume that would mean the draft rules don't apply and his salary is negotiable...otherwise why wouldn't we have have just drafted him and kept that future pick?