Chivas USA, which has been ridding its roster of players at a record rate, actually added a player Wednesday, acquiring Argentine midfielder Mauro Rosales from the Seattle Sounders in exchange for the rights to forward Tristan Bowen.
The two teams also exchanged allocation rankings, with Chivas giving up the No. 2 spot to Seattle and Chivas acquiring the No. 13 allocation ranking from Seattle. The allocation ranking is used to determine which Major League Soccer club is given priority to acquire a U.S. national team player who comes to the MLS after playing abroad.
Rosales played 86 games for the Sounders, scoring 12 goals and recording 34 assists. Last season he had four goals and a team-high eight assists in 33 games.
Seattle had already declined a contract option on Rosales, who made $225,000 last season, leaving the 32-year-old set to enter Thursday’s MLS re-entry draft.
“Chivas is the team that has trusted in me to help with what I’ve done in my last club,” Rosales said. “Obviously I’m grateful for that confidence.
“What [Chivas] wants to have next season is a great team and to get to the playoffs, which is something that everyone wants.”
Chivas has a lot of work to do to make that happen since the team has no coach and, after Wednesday’s trade, just 17 players on its active roster.
Bowen, 22, a five-year MLS veteran, signed first with the Galaxy as a homegrown player from Van Nuys then moved to Chivas USA three years ago. He set career highs with 22 games and 15 starts last season, scoring twice and adding two assists.
Written by Steve Milne
