In case there were any doubts about which teams are gunning for playoff runs, both Colorado and New York padded their rosters just before the MLS roster deadline.
The Red Bulls added D.C. United defender Carey Talley in exchange for a 2011 MLS SuperDraft conditional second-round pick. Talley, 34, returned to the team with which he began his MLS career in 1998 just before the season and played in 15 matches (13 starts, 1,141 minutes).
But his future with D.C. was murky at best, so United got something in return for him rather that simply letting him go in the offseason. The Red Bulls, who want nothing less than an MLS Cup – and clearly have the resources now that don’t exactly require them to build through the draft – get a veteran presence who can fill a role in the back in a pinch. As pointed out by Climbing the Ladder, should Talley see the field, he’ll become only the fourth MLS player to play for six teams. The first three are Andy Williams, Brian Dunseth, and Ezra Hendrickson.
The Rapids, who are also determined to make the postseason, made two trades this week, adding surplus New York forward Macoumba Kandji in exchange for attacking midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy, and taking on versatile veteran 34-year-old midfielder Brian Mullan – who is also a Colorado native – from Houston in exchange for allocation money and 26-year-old Colin Clark, who is injured (torn ACL) but is young and has plenty of upside.
D.C. also announced yesterday that it has signed Junior Carreiro, a.k.a. Fred’s little brother. Junior has been training with D.C. all season, and United general manager Dave Kasper said the 19-year-old Brazilian has earned his chance to represent D.C. in real matches. But another factor is the looming expansion of rosters next season – with the magic number of 30 surfacing yesterday on ESPNDallas.com. This also helped influence the decision to add Carlos Varela – who is also extremely cheap, I hear. D.C. is stockpiling some semi-decent assets without necessarily committing to them long term, giving themselves first right of refusal next season.
