Rapids Add 3 Players and $125K In GAM

As expected, the Rapids did not stand pat on draft day.  However, as I did not predict, we did pass on our last two picks.  I expected us to use them all to help stock Rapids 2, but there was some talk today that drafting players did not mean you had rights to sign them to a MLS NEXT contract so that may have played into it.

Back to our actual picks though.  Not surprisingly the Rapids made a trade with their first pick (#10 overall), sending it to Nashville in return for $125K in GAM and their first round pick (#26).  Getting over $100K for the #10 pick is a solid move by Padraig Smith and depending on how well Nashville's pick does there is $50K in conditional GAM that may also come our way.

That was our only move of the day, so with the #23 pick we chose defensive midfielder Mohamed Omar out of Notre Dame.  He's Canadian and spent time in TFC's system before going to college, so he may qualify as domestic under MLS's rule for academy players.  He appears to be a solid understudy for our crowded midfield and will likely get plenty of time with Rapids 2.

With the #26 pick Colorado took left-footed central defender Anthony Markanich out of the University of Northern Illinois.  He has a twin who was drafted by FC Cincinnati with the 2nd pick in the 2nd round.  Until then there was some hope among the fans that the Rapids might be able bring both of them in by choosing Anthony's brother in the second round.  Markanich will have a shot to provide youthful depth to the backline, who currently only has Moor and Edwards as reserves behind the big 3.

In the second round the Rapids took forward Roberto Molina, most recently with the USL Las Vegas Lights, with the 17th pick.  Under MLS rules he signed a contract with them that left him eligible for the MLS draft.  Before that he was in college at UC-Irvine.  Molina is Salvadoran and had 3 caps for the El Salvador National Team in 2021 against Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Chile.  He appeared 30 times for Las Vegas, netting 2 goals and 5 assists.  Because he would count as an international (I assume) he'll have a higher mountain to climb to make the team.

After that we passed with our last two picks.  I don't expect any of these 3 players to have an immediate impact in 2022 but there is the possibility they'll grow into contributing members of the team in future years.