"Big" Move Coming?

This is third-hand information (Bravo to sales rep to contact to me) but I got word of a rumor.  On Thursday Paul Bravo was talking to the sales and marketing meeting and said that they "have a pretty big move for a great player" planned while the window is open.  Apparently Bravo wouldn't say who, just that he "was very excited and proud of finalizing a deal they've been working a very, very long time on".

I put "Big" in quotes in the title for two reasons.  One, this is a "fool me once" situation.  I could fill up multiple blog entries on the various "big signing" rumors over the years that either "fell through" (Julio Dely Valdes, Jared Borghetti) or weren't particularly "big" relative to the rest of the league (Edu).  Second, as we saw in yesterday's salary release, the Rapids are maxed out on roster spots and are close to the cap.  So any sort of "big" move would probably require moving a notable player on the current roster somewhere else, thus reducing a bit the net effect of the move.

We haven't heard a single rumor or report of the Rapids being connected with a new signing and assuming the quotes from Bravo are accurate you'll notice he says "move" and "finalizing a deal" not "signing".  That leads me to believe this deal they've been working "a very, very long time on" is the negotiations for a trade in MLS.  That would also solve the roster/salary cap issues as we would presumably send out a player to free up the room for the player we're acquiring.

I honestly have no idea who we might trade for, but I have some thoughts on who we might trade away.  The first name that comes to mind is Shane O'Neill.  He's not getting any playing time and he's too good a player to leave on the bench.  The next two are Drew Moor and Dillon Serna.  Moor because he's no longer captain and is playing out of position, Serna because like O'Neill he's not getting much playing time (though given the quality of our midfield that's more understandable than O'Neill).  The final candidate, and I think its unlikely, is Dillon Powers.  Again he's seeing his laying time cut back in a crowded midfield and he has a high salary number.  It would have to be a pretty significant trade to be worth trading him though, especially after just signing him to a new contract  in the offseason.