TAM, Affiliation, and Expansion Draft

There's been a few stories of note since Friday, so we'll go through them all in one post.

First, the league announced $1.2 million in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) each of the next two years.  They also announced that each team could self-fund an additional $2.8 million in TAM each of the next two years.  Essentially they said that teams could spend up to $4 million on TAM players each of the next two years, and the league will cover the first $1.2 million of it.  To remind everyone, TAM is used to sign players that would normally be Designated Players but the TAM brings their salary below the salary max for a standard player.  Players signed with TAM have to have a total cost (salary+transfer fee) of $1.5 million or less and you can convert a DP to a TAM player but you must sign a new DP player to replace him.

This is not great news for traditionally low-spending/small-market teams, like the Rapids.  This will quickly split teams into haves and have nots as those owners who are comfortable spending will spend all $4 million and those who aren't will just spend the league covered $1.2 million.  That $2.8 million difference could have a huge effect on rosters.  I guess now we'll know how interested KSE is in being competitive versus just existing.

The silver lining though is that now that we know the number we might start to see some movement in player signings.  A number of Front Offices have complained to reporters that the question about how much TAM would be available was causing them to delay signings.  Maybe we'll get a signing (or 2?) before Christmas?

Secondly the Rapids announced that the affiliation with the USL Charlotte Independence will be extended though the 2018 season.  The fact that this is just a one year deal leads me to believe that the Front Office has bigger long-term plans than affiliating with Charlotte but they have enough to deal with this offseason with all the new leadership so its easier to just extend it for another year and deal with the long-term plans next offseason.  The relationship with Charlotte came out of the time that Hinchey spent there working with the Bobcats along-side some of the Independence owners so I'm not surprised that with his departure that relationship may be reexamined.

Lastly the available players for Tuesday's expansion draft have been announced.  We can then extrapolate who's on the Rapids protection list, and there's really no surprises.  When I made my forecast a little over a month ago I picked 10 names and left the last spot open to be based on the best info the coaches had.  That was before we knew Saeid asked for his release, but the other 9 names on my list were protected, along with Miller and Watts.  (and of course, our four homegrown players were automatically protected).  In fact, the only exposed players the Rapids have under contract next season are Mike da Fonte (no way he gets chosen, and no loss if he does) and Sam Hamilton (he won't get chosen with the other options out there).  So the Rapids should come through this unscathed and with no surprises.

Also, shout-out to Rapids legend and all around fan favorite Drew Moor for picking up his second ring last night!  He's 2-1 now in MLS Cups, all played in Toronto.  Clint Irwin gets his first ring as well.

Affiliations, Transfer Rumors, and Playoff Opponent

An eclectic list of news and rumors today:

The Rapids renewed their affiliation with the USL Charlotte Independence for another season today.  This is a little bit of a surprise as it seemed like Colorado was leaning towards a relationship with the Switchbacks.  Maybe they still have different viewpoints on how the relationship might work or maybe the Rapids are just happy staying with Charlotte given Hinchey's relationship with the Independence owners.

Two interesting transfer rumors surfaced from MLS Transfers today.  They're track record is a little hit or miss so I wouldn't put much weight into these:

Axel Sjoberg:

I'm hearing Axel Sjoberg has been gaining interest from Djurgardens (his youth club) and Ostersunds FK.

I'm not sure this would be a great move for a player like Sjoberg except for him it would be going home.  I don't think a mid-tier top league team (Djurgardens) or a recently promoted team (Ostersunds) in Sweden would be a step up but you can't downplay the appeal of playing in your home country,

Dillon Powers:

Source tells me Dillon Powers has interest from Blackburn. May trial in the offseason.

As a Blackburn fan I'm not sure how I feel about this one. :D  If Jones re-signs for the Rapids or hey plan to bring in another Jones-type player its certainly time for Powers to leave.  As we've seen he doesn't really have a starting spot with Jones or that type of player here.  He was probably going to move to a Championship side last season until Reading made a managerial change.  Its the right level for him and would probably be a good move for everyone involved on this side of the pond.

Now I don't see Powers saving Blackburn from relegation so this better not be the only big move they're considering in the winter transfer window. ;)

Finally, LA beat FSL tonight 3-1 so we're headed to the StubHub Center for our first playoff game on Sunday.  Time is still to be announced.  During the season we played 0-0 and 1-1 draws in LA while beating them here 1-0.  Those results would get us through to the conference finals if we repeat them.  Its a little concerning how LA has turned on its offense tonight but that could jusst be because FSL has been a bad team for two months.

Loans & International Call Ups

A little bit of mid-week roster news:

• Appiah and Calvert have been loaned to Charlotte.  This was fairly predictable.  Calvert spent most of last year with the Independence while Appiah as a draft pick will be more likely to get time there than in Colorado.  We'll see if anyone else makes the trip to the East Coast.  ?Unless their loans are full-season loans with no recall clauses they still count against the 28 man roster cap.  As reserve players they already don't count against the salary cap so no change there.
• Kevin Doyle was called up for Ireland, Marco Pappa for Guatemala.  They'll both leave after the DC game.  With (most of) the league taking the following weekend off due to the FIFA dates they won't miss any Rapids games.  We'll wish Doyle great success and no injuries in Ireland's friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia.  We'll wish Pappa no injuries and no success as Guatemala will be playing the U.S. in back-to-back World Cup Qualifiers during the window.
• Oddly enough Gashi was not called up for Albania for their pre-Euro friendlies against Austria and Luxembourg.  I don't know if this was due to his illness and fitness level, just giving him a chance to adjust to his new team, not needing to see what he has pre-Euros, or not needing him any more..

More Trialists In Camp

The Denver Post's Daniel Boniface tweeted some information about trialists in camp today:

Oscar Montoya (formerly of Abraham Lincoln HS in Denver) and Francisco Flores (Cruz Azul) were in on trial today.

Not much is known about Montoya but Flores is a Mexican right back who was signed by Cruz Azul in 2012 after playing for the Mexican U-17 team in the 2011 World Cup.  He hasn't gotten much first-team time (7 appearances at Cruz Azul) but he has continued in the Mexican National Team system, playing 11 times for the U-20 team including in CONCACAF U-20 World Cup qualifying and at the 2013 U-20 World Cup.  He addresses one of the thinnest areas of depth and would be a good young signing.

Boniface also tweeted that Eloundou is still stuck in Cameroon with visa issues but is expected to join camp soon.

Updated camp roster:

(* = international):

Goalkeepers:
John Berner
Clint Irwin
Zac MacMath

Defenders:
Marc Burch
Bobby Burling
Brandon Fricke
Michael Harrington
Drew Moor
John Neeskens
Shane O'Neill
Axel Sjoberg*

Midfielders:
Sam Cronin
Marlon Hairston
Nick LaBrocca
Lucas Pittinari*
Dillon Powers
Marcelo Sarvas
Dillon Serna
Jared Watts

Forwards:
Deshorn Brown*
Caleb Calvert
Charles Eloundou* (not yet in camp, visa issues)
Vicente Sanchez
Gabriel Torres*

Unsigned:
D Francisco Flores (trialist in camp)

D Joseph Greenspan (draftee, on Naval duty through 2017 probably)
D Matt Jeffrey (draftee)
D Wes Knight (trialist in camp)
D Ben Newnam (trialist in camp)
D Patrick Slogic (confirmed to be in camp)
D Grant Van de Casteele (confirmed to be in camp)
M Carlos Alvarez (confirmed to be in camp)
M Juan Ramirez* (multiple reports of signing with the Rapids)
F Dominique Badji* (draftee)
F Kevin Doyle* (in town negotiating)

?? Oscar Montoya (trialist in camp)

Also tonight the Charlotte Independence, the Rapids USL partner club, unveiled their logo: