With the MLS regular season in full swing, the Crew technical staff is still looking for a player to bring in that can provide offensive spark.
The transfer window opened on June 27th, which allows MLS teams to bring in foreign-based talent that are still under contract. Sunday, July 1st marks the date when all contracts are guaranteed for the year. The Crew, or any team in the league, can release players on semi-guaranteed contracts and not have their wages count against the salary cap.
The Transfer Window
Player transactions are a little more complicated in soccer than other American sports. Teams in other sports often look around the league to find a player to trade for. MLS teams can trade inside the league, but a lot of talent is brought in from foreign countries through transfers.
The Crew made three transfers in the offseason and all have seen significant playing time this year. Chilean Milovan Mirosevic and Costa Rican Olman Vargas joined the Crew in January as free agents. Columbus then signed defender Nemanja Vukovic from Montenegro in March, but had to wait to complete their latest signing, Jairo Arrieta. Arietta was under contract with Costa Rican outfit Saprissa and wasn't able to officially move until the transfer window opened.
The league has a brief description of the process on its Roster Rules and Regulations webpage, listing the window opening from June 27th through July 27th. Therefore, the Crew have 30 days to bring in a difference maker or they face having to pick through the leftover players.
Contracts, Roster Rules, and The Cap
Any sports league has esoteric roster rules, but MLS is even more complex. A team has to account for the salary cap, but beyond that the league has several designations for each player. The team has to manage senior, exempt, and apprentice roster players while managing international roster slots for foreign talent.
In addition to roster juggling, all contracts are fully guaranteed the morning of July 1st. This deadline forces the hands of many teams in the league. Anyone looking to make significant roster moves will have to make tough decisions about current players.
The Crew made their moves earlier this week when they waived rookie Aubrey Perry, 2nd year player Korey Veeder, and former starter Shaun Francis. These moves have a big effect on the roster rules and salary cap the team needs to stay within.
In waiving Perry, Veeder, and Francis, the Crew opened up several spots on the roster. The team can have 30 active players, but in the case of the Crew, it's not quite that simple. Goalkeeper William Hesmer and forward Tom Heinemann are already out for the year, giving the team a little flexibility. Hesmer has already been placed on the season ending injured list and Heinemann is eligible for that designation as well. Midfielder Rich Balchan is on the DL, but the team still has to account for that salary however.
More importantly, waiving Francis frees up one of the 8 precious international roster slots. Any international player who doesn't have a green card takes up one slot. With this move, the Crew has one open international slot for a midseason acquisition.
Additionally, the move frees up cash. While the Crew will have to pay some settlement costs, they won't have to count salaries against the league's cap. With the league cap set at 2.8 million dollar, Columbus freed up at least 5% of its total salary cap.
The number the team saved also comes close to the salary cap charge that a Designated Player costs if he's brought in midseason, at $175,000.
The Designated Player
The Crew have already made one DP move with Arrieta, but the front office is angling to acquire a game changing Designated Player. The team has already offered (and withdrew) a contract offer to an Argentinian based forward, instead moving on to an unnamed European forward.
This player is unlikely to have the big name that teams like Los Angeles, Toronto, or New York bring in. You won't see an internationally renowned player like David Beckham, Torsten Frings, or Thierry Henry suit up in the black and gold. The Crew have settled on the lower profiles (and cheaper salaries) of Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Andres Mendoza. Other targets have included Polish international Maciej and Crew legend Brian McBride.
Many of these lower profile players have made a big impact; Schelotto's exploits are legendary. Real Salt Lake's offense is fueled by the outsized talents and relatively modest salaries of Javier Morales and Alvaro Saborio. The Columbus brain trust is hoping for that kind of bang for their buck.
Crew fans hope the team has fastidiously managed the salary cap and have scouted the right players to find that missing final piece to get the offense firing. They won’t have long to wait to find out. The transfer window is now open and preseason is starting around many European leagues in the next few weeks. The Crew need to make a move soon.
