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MLS Ticker: Dynamo sign young DP Martinez, Ortiz leaves D.C., and more

There’s a new Designated Player in Major League Soccer, as the Houston Dynamo have confirmed the signing of midfielder Tomas Martinez.

The 22-year-old, who has featured for Argentina’s youth teams, joins the Western Conference power from Sporting Braga in Portugal. Martinez is the Dynamo’s third Designated Player on the squad, including Erick Torres and Alberth Elis.

“Tomás is a player that is hungry to play, that has a wonderful background playing for River Plate in Argentina and playing at the U-20 level with the national team in Argentina,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “He has a lot of tools, a lot of expectations and he is hungry to consolidate himself as a player. His youth is going to be very good for the team and he is going to bring a good, fresh mentality to work in.”

Here’s a closer look at some more MLS news:

D.C. United Waive Ortiz

Costa Rican international Jose Ortiz is leaving D.C. United after only a seven month stint in the nation’s capital.

After confirming his loan from CS Herediano in the Costa Rican first division in December, the forward made 16 appearances this season, seven of which were starts. After scoring only one goal in his short time in MLS, the two clubs have decided to cancel his loan as he has returned to Herediano.

Crew, D.C. swap money, international spots

There’s been a trade in MLS, but not of players.

Instead, Columbus Crew gained an international roster spot from Eastern Conference rivals D.C. United. In exchange, Ben Olsen’s side were given $50,000 in allocation money from the Crew.

Comments

  1. Martinez was an average player with River but could paid off “a la Diaz” results like Dallas Burn. I personally think that Martinez isn’t worth the gamble. Dynamo really need an impact player & Martinez isn’t it.

    Reply
  2. Based on Dynamo DP signing history they have just destroyed this young man’s career. We apologize in advance Tomas.

    Reply
    • Not only is your premise that the Dynamo ruin young players they sign as DPs an overstatement but you can make a case they have generally been successful with their DPs. To wit:

      Successes (5/9): Erick Torres post Coyle/with Cabrera; Alberth Elis, Boniek Garcia and Mauro Manotas).

      Overpaid but serviceable former USMNT player (1/9): Beasley.

      Overpaid but serviceable (2/9): Cristian Maidana and Alex Lopez.

      Complete Busts: Luis Angel Landin.

      You can easily argue the DPs that “failed” only stayed for a couple years and then moved on to other teams where they also were also not as successful; therefore the issue is scouting/willingness to pay for talent, not developmental.

      The only guy I’d call a bust signing is Landin and his Wiki has more teams than Freddy Adu. Every year it’s a new team for him. The last time he stayed with the same club more than a year was Pachuca 2004-07.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_%C3%81ngel_Land%C3%ADn

      Reply
      • Dynamo DP’s have sucked.

        Landin – total bust
        Koke – total bust
        Lopez – total bust
        Maidana – bust
        Torres – He was a DP who didn’t score a single goal in 2 full seasons for the club but he is a success? lol no. You can’t just ignore those first two seasons like they didn’t happen.
        Boniek – Good first season but has declined and been less effective ever since
        Manotas – looks good so far but hasn’t really made a huge impact or even cemented himself in the starting 11
        Elis – has looked good in a small sample size though he has gone missing for periods.
        Beasley – he has been ok but not worth the money.

        That is a lot of busts and a lot of meh…. some short term success so far this season but that is not a big sample size.

        Absolutely none could describe as a run away success and a number who are clear busts.

      • HTM We can disagree about the relative success of the DPs, but I still stand firm that the Dynamo haven’t ruined any careers of any DPs. They generally take a moneyball approach to picking DPs and you get what you pay for. The players are what they are

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