In a very surprising move, the Red Bulls traded away recently required Dwayne De Rosario to DC United and acquired Dax McCarty in return. I must say it was a shocking move for the Red Bulls as it would seem at first that they are on the worse end of this deal.
I have nothing on McCarty and I believe he is a good player, but he certainly does not have the same quality as De Rosario does. Creative, attacking midfielder players come at such a premium in this league and De Rosario is without a doubt one of the top players in that category. It seemed a great move by the Red Bulls to acquire him just a few months before.
Furthermore, with all the talent the Red Bulls have on their roster, the move to get De Rosario indicated that the Red Bulls were looking to win this year. However, the move now to get a much younger, less developed McCarty appears to contradict this somewhat as the move provides the Red Bulls more security and options for the long term.
One point some have already raised is that the move will definitely open up a lot of salary cap room for the Red Bulls, who with their current Goalkeeper situation and upcoming transfer window, may look to make some moves to bring up in more established, big time goalie. This seems a little much to me as the goalkeeping situation is not make or break for the Red Bulls and to make such a drastic change and essentially abandon two current goalkeepers who perhaps are just having a bad run of form seems a little extreme. The move certainly gives the Red Bulls options though if they want to pursue such a move. Time will tell soon enough as the transfer window opens shortly.
I wonder if there was anything else going on with De Rosario and the Red Bulls organization. Since returning from the Gold Cup he has been very, very average at best. He hasn’t even appeared the slightest bit engaged or interested in the last few matches, particularly last weekend against Chicago. Obviously I don’t know if there is anything else or other reasons for the trade, but its something to consider. Its not the worst move for the Red Bulls as McCarty is a good player and has the potential to be a very good player a few years down the road. That being said though, De Rosario’s talents will certainly be missed on the team. It was an interesting trade an will see how it effects both teams going forward.
Image courtesy of Mike Stobe / Getty Images
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