On the eve of MLS kickoff, the New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps have combined for a blockbuster trade.
The Whitecaps have traded defender Tim Parker to the Red Bulls in exchange for Felipe, 500K in Targeted Allocation Money and an international slot. The Red Bulls will send Vancouver $225,000 of TAM for 2018, and $275,000 of TAM for 2019.
The move comes in the aftermath of comments from Jesse Marsch following the Red Bulls’ win over Olimpia that all but confirmed Felipe would be on the move.
Parker, a New York native and a former player at St. Johns, was the Whitecaps’ first round selection in the 2015 MLS Draft. The 25-year-old defender went on to make 76 total appearances for the club while forming one of the league’s top defensive duos next to Kendall Waston. In addition, Parker has taken part in two January camps with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Felipe, meanwhile, has long been a favorite of Marsh, who made a move to acquire the midfielder from the Montreal Impact once he was named Red Bulls boss in 2015. The 27-year-old midfielder made 100 appearances for the Red Bulls, scoring 10 goals with 17 assists.
Now, Parker joins a Red Bulls centerback group headlined by Aaron Long, Aurelien Collin and Tommy Redding, while Felipe moves to a Whitecaps team that recently traded a midfield piece in Tony Tchani.
And the Red Bull continue to get younger! I never faulted Fillipe’s effort, but I don’t think he really grew much in the last couple years.
The Red Bull press high and if they cannot count on the backs to defend well against counters with small numbers, they will struggle at times. Parker might be the answer to that.
Also, it would not surprise me if Marsch decides to go with 3 in back to press even more and in the process put more responsibility on each defender again emphasizing the importance of each defender.
I am optimistic about this. I think Felipe really performed for us, but our deficiencies at CB have been obvious for a long time. I like the way Parker plays and he has a good future in front of him.
I’m a Whitecaps season ticket holder. You’ll be surprised how quietly effective Parker is. He’s one of the better CBs in the league. Wins everything, cuts out a lot of attempted through balls. He’ll always be the guy with the dirty uniform at the end of the game (if playing on grass). You’ll love him; we’ll miss him.
Trade makes no sense!!!! How do you loose an international roster tam for two years and a midfielder for a centerback.hey kid is good but ay this price ???
TAM was because Felipe makes 3x as much as Parker this year as far as international slot and midfielder, guess time will tell, they love Adams and Davis and the guy they got on loan from Salzburg seems pretty good as well- think there are pluses and minuses for both teams in this trade
Also, it says Marsh thinks BWP will not be replaced in the next 2 years so he does not need to have a lot of $ for a forward with the potential to replace BWP right away. Does Marsch see some young homegrown player taking over BWP’s spot in a couple years. Now that would be a great question for someone interviewing Marsch.
Meanwhile, the weakest part of the Red Bull is the back line so Parker makes some sense.
Disappointed to see Felipe go but Red Bulls needed an upgrade in the center of defense. A lot of pressure on Tyler Adams and Sean Davis!