Tommy Smith Incoming and Superdraft "Preview"

So those posts last week where I downplayed the likelihood of Tommy Smith joining the Rapids?  Oops.  Its looking like he'll be in camp at least in time to go to Arizona with the team next Wednesday.  At least, if the reporting from his current team is to be believed.  This morning we woke up to a report from an Ipswich paper that the deal to sell Smith to Colorado was done pending Ipswich Town singing a replacement.  Tonight there's a report from the same source that Ipswich is expected to announced a defender joining on loan tomorrow.  That would leave Smith free to come to Colorado and go through the formalities to be announced early next week before the team goes to Arizona.

So what do we know about Tommy Smith?  He's a 27 year old New Zealand center back that has spent his whole career with Ipswich Town (he has 29 appearances with 3 different teams on loan).  He's made 245 appearances for The Tractor Boys since he joined the squad in 2007.  Hes also a New Zealand international and he has been capped 32 times for the All-Whites including playing for Anthony Hudson a few times though most of his callups were before Hudson took charge.

Smith has dealt with a back injury recently and has only appeared 13 times for Ipswich over the last season and a half as he's fallen out of favor.  Transfermarkt lists his value as $2 million but hopefully with him being out of favor we could get him for a lower number than that.  Obviously he is an international so acquiring him will require us to make another move before the roster deadline day to free up an international slot.  He would fill a the hole at CB, leaving us a back 3 likely of Ford-Smith-Sjoberg, but there's a rumor that Sjoberg might be on the trading block so there may be more changes to come.

We could see those changes tomorrow as Superdraft day always ends up with wheeling and dealing around the league.  There isn't much to preview for the Rapids as they have two second round picks tomorrow, the 2nd and 4th picks of the round, having traded their first round pick for Eric Miller.  Over the last few years any pick outside the first round has been a crap shoot, the last player to be picked outside the first round and notably more than an average MLS player was Joao Plata who was drafted in the second round in 2011 by Toronto.  Other than that there are some decent MLS players who have been drafted in later rounds but nobody who's become a leading player for their club.  With our current picks I expect Colorado to draft somebody who sticks with the team out of camp tomorrow (like Sam Hamilton has from last year's draft) and a goalkeeper on Sunday the be the 3rd keeper on the roster, but nobody who's going to make a significant difference to this team.