Colorado Signs One, Lose One To Retirement

An expected and unexpected announcement today.  First. as expected, the Rapids announced the signing of GK John Berner.  With the signing the Rapids have 4 GK's on the roster (Irwin, Nasco, Berner, and Pickens) but as we've seen Pickens will almost certainly not be with the team this year.

Secondly, surprisingly, Kory Kindle announced his retirement from soccer.  Kindle was a second round pick in the 2013 SuperDraft and signed a new contract last month.  He didn't play at all in 2013 and his season was cut short due to injury but he was back at full strength in preseason.  In his announcement he says he wants to return to school to get his doctorate in physical therapy so maybe his heart just wasn't in the game.  I wish him luck and maybe we'll see him on the sidelines in a different role in the future.

So here's the camp roster as the team headed to the Desert Diamond Cup today.

EDIT: The Rapids just announced they released drafteee Tolani Ibikunle today.  The list below is updated.  Hat-tip to Rod (even if he is a Duck) for the news.

Goalkeepers:

John Berner

Clint Irwin

Joe Nasco

Matt Pickens - On "Excused Absence"

Defenders:

Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player - Will start season on IR(knee)

Mark Burch

Albert Edward - Unsigned draftee

Brenton Griffiths - International

Chris Klute

Drew Moor

Brian Mullan

Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player

Grant Van De Casteele

Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:

Samuel Galindo - Unsigned trialist, International

Juan Guzman - Unsigned trialist

Marion Hariston - Generation Adidas

Nick LaBrocca

Jose Mari - Unsigned trialist, International

Dillon Powers

Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player

Nathan Sturgis

Jared Watts

Forwards:

Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International

Edson Buddle

Martin Chavez

Charles Eloundou - International

Kamani Hill

Danny Mwanga

Vicente Sanchez - International

Gabriel Torres - Designated Player, International

SuperDraft tomorrow (and two more re-signings)

First the roster news.  In a follow-up from yesterday I found out from the Rapids that Mullan is signed as a player, not a player/coach, so his whole salary will count against the cap.  Also both Brenton Griffiths and Kory Kindle were re-signed today, giving our defense some depth, even if its a bit untested.

Defensive depth will likely be a focus of tomorrow' Superdraft.  Starting at 10am MST with the first round on ESPNews the teams will go through the first two rounds, with the 3rd and 4th round held on Tuesday.  The Rapids hold 3 picks tomorrow. In the first rounf they have their natural pick at 11 for their 2013 finish.  In the second round they traded their natural pick at 11 (30th overall) to Vancouver for allocation money and an international spot two years ago but acquired LA's natural pick (14, 33rd overall) in the Pablo trade and Houston's natural pick 1(16, 35th overall) int he Mac Kandji trade.

This draft is considered to be weak on attacking power but strong on defense.  Don't be shocked if the Rapids look to add a center back at pick 11 (the same pick that got them Dillon Powers last year).  A couple of names you may hear are Denver-native defender Kyle Venter out of New Mexico, defender A.J. Cochran out of Wisconsin, Colorado Springs-native defender Patrick Slogic out of Cornell (though if the Rapids were really interested in him they could have signed him to a homegrown player contract as he was part of the Academy) , Brazilian midfielder Pedro Riberio out of Costal Carolina, and forward Denver-native Tesho Akindele out of Colorado School of Mines (who might have had the most beneficial combine out of anyone there).

If possible I'll update during the draft with our picks, otherwise I'll have a full recap tomorrow night.

Roster Churn Prior To Re-Entry Draft

A ton of roster news in the last couple of days.  Knocking it down 1 by 1.

• The Rapids have declined the option on Steward Ceus

Not to be harsh, but that's a good move.  Ceus obviously lost something this year.  He was one of the last eight players on the roster from the Cup winning team.  Ceus will be in the Re-Entry Draft on Thursday.

• Mullan's, Smith's options declined making them eligible for the Re-Entry Draft

No surprise here, both these guys (another 2 from the Cup winning team) are approaching retirement.  In the Ceus article Bravo said he expects everyone but Ceus to opt out of the Re-Entry Draft, so he mush have some feeling that Mullan and Smith will sign new contracts, leave the league, or retire.  I wouldn't mind keeping them around as coaches but their time to help on the field is basically over.

• Wallace and Armstrong are out of contract.

Sounds like Armstrong is being kept on until he's healthy, then probably let go.  Wallace is wanted back but will probably go somewhere where he can get more playing time, which I can't blame him for.  These are another two of the Cup winning players.  The only 3 with no news this week are Moor, Pickens, and Wynne.

• Griffiths and Kindle are extended new deals.

This one surprises me I figured the team might move on from both players.  Particularly Griffiths since he takes an international spot.  The coaches must see enough in practice to keep them on.  The article does say they're being offered their same minimum contracts they had this year.

• The Rapids want German Mera back next season.

Makes sense, especially after Calderon was let go.  I can understand not wanting to go through an expensive buyout for Mera and bringing him back on loan.  Smart way to go about it.

• Colorado wants to bring back Danny Mwanga.

Meh, from an age perspective he makes the most sense out of the Cascio/Hill/Mwanga trio, but from a play and cost perspective I like Cascio better.  Still it was a safe bet that at least 1 of those 3 would be back.  Maybe they can get him cheaper.

Next major even is the Re-Entry Draft on Thursday afternoon, though we may hear news about some of these players signing new contracts before that.

Armstrong, Kindle Done For Year

The Rapids announced today that both Davy Armstrong and Kory Kindle have had surgery for significant injuries that will end their season.  Armstrong blew out his ACL while he was on loan with Phoenix FC and will be out for 6 months.  He'll be ready to come back shortly before the start of the 2014 season, but he's in a contract year so we'll see if he gets a new contract or not.  Kindle is dealing with a sports hernia and will be out for the next 3 months.  He could be back in time for the Conference Finals and/or MLS Cup should the Rapids make it that far, but odds are he's done for the season.

Neither player has had any first team minutes this season so there shouldn't be much change for the team, but it does hurt their chances of sticking with the team in 2014.

Rapids Sign Three

Time to get caught up with this week's roster moves as Colorado added two and re-signed a third.

Yesterday they signed 2nd round Superdraft pick LB Kory Kindle and free agent GK Clint Irwin.  Kindle will compete for the starting LB spot while Irwin will be expected to fill the 3rd goalkeeper spot.

Then today they announced the re-signing of Jaime Castrillon.  A bit surprising as nobody realized Castrillon was out of contract.  Apparently, due to the injury found in post-season fitness tests, the Rapids declined Castrillon's option and has finally came to terms on a new contract.  This will allow Castrillon to get the necessary surgery on his knee.  Castrillon will start the season on the DL for a couple of months, so that will free up his roster spot.

Updated camp roster:

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Clint Irwin
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Diego Calderon - International
Marcello Castro - Unsigned draftee, International
Brenton Griffiths - Unsigned draftee, International
Kory Kindle
Chris Klute (Atlanta loan through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong - Homegrown Player
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon - International - On Disabled List
Machael David - Unsigned draftee
Kevin Harbottle - International
Nick LaBrocca
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill - Homegrown Player
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (Rosario Central loan through 2013) - International
Dillon Serna - Homegrown Player
Jamie Smith
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas - International

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown - Generation Adidas, International
Edson Buddle
Charles Eloundou - International
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill
Stefano Souza Pinho - Unsigned draftee, International
David Cortes Armero -  Unsigned trialist, International
Matthew Dunn-  Unsigned trialist
Marcos Pirchio -  Unsigned trialist, International
Cesar Romero - Unsigned trialist

This puts the Rapids at 29 signed players and 2 open slots with Castrillon's injury.  They have two open international spots, so there's no limits on who can fill those roles.

Rapids Close To Signing Two

One of my sources at the Rapids has told me that the team is close to signing their 2nd round draft pick LB Kory Kindle and trialist Clint Irwin as the 3rd GK.  I would expect official word sometime this week.

That would put the team at 29 signed players against a roster limit of 30, with two international spots still available.  If Rivero and/or Castrillon start the season on the DL both their roster spot and international spot would open up until they come off of injury, which gives the team a bit of flexibility.

All of this is to distract you from the ugly game Friday night where the Rapids got kicked up and down the field in Vegas by Chivas USA.  A 3-0 loss where the team looked disorganized and without a plan.  Its only preseason but not a good omen.  The only trialist to play was Cesar Romero.

The night before the Rapids beat UNLV 4-0.  Irwin got the start in goal and saved a PK (given up by Kindle), and the 4 goals were scored by trialists Pinho, Castro, Pirchio, and Romero.  Only 3 players from the 2010  Rapids, Klute, Smith, and Akpan, played in the game.  8 of the 15 players were trialists.

Rapids Choose 3 In Draft

In today's Superdraft the Rapids stuck with their 3 picks at 6, 11, and 25 and picked up a trio of players who I expect to make the team and contribute.

Going into the draft the talk was that Colorado really wanted CB Walker Zimmerman and he fell to #6 but the Rapids surprised everyone and took UCF forward Deshorn Brown.  DeShorn is a junior at Central Florida and was signed under the Generation Adidas program, which means he doesn't count against the cap and is automatically protected in any expansion drafts.  He's Jamaican, so he will take up an international slot, leaving us 2 open slots.  He was named to the 2012 All-PDL Team and the Conference USA All Conference team.  At 6'3" he'll be a good target for Rivero's free kicks into the box.

At #11 Colorado took Notre Dame midfielder Dillon Powers.  He is one of a few seniors to already have signed a contract with MLS due to his high level of play in college.  He was also considered one of the best midfielders at the combine.  Powers has played for the U.S. U-18 and U-20 teams, being named MVP of the 2010 Milk Cup with the U-20 team.

With their final pick the Rapids took left back Kory Kindle from CSU Bakersfield.  Kindle is a senior but has not yet signed a contract.  He stood out as one of the better left backs at this draft, but he is a converted left mid.

Combined with the announcement of Kevin Harbottle this morning the Rapids are up to 25 players on the roster for training camp.  The other 21 players reported to Commerce City today for the first day of fitness tests, with training starting this weekend.  I'm sure today's additions will join them shortly.  The four rounds of the Supplemental Draft will be held on Thursday, the Rapids have a 2nd and 3rd round pick.

Here's our current roster as we enter camp.

Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Diego Calderon
Kory Kindle - Unsigned draftee
Chris Klute (on loan from Atlanta through late-Sept)
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace
Marvell Wynne

Midfielders:
Davy Armstrong
Eric Avila - Unsigned Re-Entry draftee
Tony Cascio
Jaime Castrillon
Kevin Harbottle
Pablo Mastroeni
Brian Mullan
Shane O'Neill
Dillon Powers
Martin Rivero (on loan from Rosario Central through 2013)
Nathan Sturgis
Hendry Thomas

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Deshorn Brown
Edson Buddle
Atiba Harris
Kamani Hill