Kosuke Kimura Traded

A day that would always eventually come, but none of us hoped to see so soon. Koz is no longer a Rapid. This afternoon he was traded to the Portland Timbers for allocation money and an international player spot.

Its no secret that Koz is (or was, now) my favorite player on the Rapids. That said he's had a rough year and has been passed on the depth chart by Freeman and Zapata. If the Rapids can use the allocation money and the international spot well, this could turn out to be a good trade. The timing of the trade with the transfer window being open and Paul Bravo being in Africa last month leads me to believe the team has something lined up already.

If they fumble this away though this could really hurt the team. There is now almost no depth on the backline. Literally the only backups we have anywhere on the bakcline now are Marshall and Palguta. *gulp* Add to that the wide dissatisfaction in the fan base with this move (even if its somewhat a gross overreaction) and the Rapids are going to have to do something soon.

To Koz, thanks for 5+ years of great service. Good luck in Portland.