Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Making Moves

Lots of moves in the early stages of the MLS offseason, but here's my thoughts on three:

1) Drew Moor Signs with Toronto - Moor leaves the Colorado Rapids where he won an MLS Cup in 2010 and made it to his first All Star game in 2015, a season after suffering an ACL injury. A veteran of 11 MLS seasons, Moor has appeared in over 300 regular season matches, as well as appearing for the U.S. Men's National Team in 2007 and 2008. What Moor will give Toronto is a veteran presence on a back line that allowed a league-worst 58 goals during the 2015 regular season. For all of Colorado's struggles during the 2015 season, the defense conceded just 43 goals, ranking behind only FC Dallas, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and San Jose. Toronto had no trouble scoring goals this past season with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco and Michael Bradley running the offense, but with the addition of Moor and Steven Beitashour, the defense becomes less of a liability moving forward.

2) Tyler Miller Signs with Seattle - So last winter Miller made headlines by opting not to sign with the Sounders in favor of a fourth division opportunity in Germany, a topic of conversation that we covered in our Superman & SoccerSmith Q&A last January. Now, a little under a year later, Miller has signed a deal with the Sounders for the 2016 season. Funny how things work out. Stefan Frei is still the number one guy in Seattle, but with Troy Perkins' option declined, Miller has a chance to serve as his back-up.

3) Dan Kennedy Traded to LA Galaxy - I was excited last year when Kennedy joined FC Dallas, and I'm equally excited about him getting picked up by the Galaxy this year. While he won't have defensive stalwart Omar Gonzalez in front of him in 2016, the Galaxy will still likely be one of league's top teams, and Kennedy will be an upgrade over the declining Donovan Ricketts in net. Kennedy allowed just 19 goals in 16 starts for FC Dallas last season before getting replaced by 20 year old phenom Jesse Gonzalez down the stretch. Dallas, in return for Kennedy, will receive a pair of draft picks in 2017.

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