The Houston Dynamo's acquisition of U.S. Under-20 national team striker Felix Garcia came as a surprise to some who weren't expecting a team like the Dynamo to just be able to land a prospect like Garcia, but details about the transaction should provide some clarity.
Garcia was not acquired via the discovery process as we first reported, but rather through the regular MLS Allocation process. According to a source with knowledge of the deal, the Houston Dynamo completed a trade with Toronto FC to swap places in the MLS allocation order. Houston sent Toronto an international player slot for two years in exchange for moving up from No. 10 to the No. 3 spot in the league's allocation order. The Dynamo then acquired Garcia, who had signed with MLS as a Generation adidas player.
What do you think of this development? Share your thoughts below.
Ives, do you think that because Toronto FC have given up this allocation spot, that they will not be bringing in anyone new such as the new Centre-back and/or a Centre-forward that they have been widely thought to be bringing in?
Curious to see if TFC has anything planned for that slot. I guess we have a few that are ending at the end of the year…
It’s to bad these MLS rules suck, But without Generation Adidas he probably would have signed with Austin(USL1) or in Mexico.
1 and 2 are San jose and LA, but the Dynamo didn’t have to go through either of them because right now both teams are in a bidding war for Bobby Convey. Yea, thats right, bobby could end up in LA
anyone complaining about this move needs to get a clue…would you rather him play in houston or dallas…or mexico
I dont get this allocation process….
you should sign who ever you want…. thats why we have a CAP…. if one team offers more money then good….
MLS rules are stupid….
Its very not Player friendly…. IN the next CBA… no Allocation order with players…. and no discovery claims….
I had no idea you could trade international slots. Learn something new every day…
Why dont all the prospects do this?
Seems to me that players who go through the draft and go to a place no one wants to go to like Salt Lake, Kansas City or New Jersey are suckers.
one man’s “shady” MLS regulation is another’s “Flexible” solution. If Garcia only wanted to play in Texas, MLS had to make it work or risk losing him. people are quick to jump on the bandwagon that says MLS rules are too inconsistent, without taking into account context and leverage.
This league called MSL just sucks!!! lol
Garcia said he only wanted to play in Texas or forget it. San Jose and LA did not get shafted. For anyone to say LA has gotten shafted for anything concerning player aquisitions is quite comical.
this is great for TFC. Ensures that we don’t have to play substandard canadians just to meet the quota.
@J
While 1 or 2 could have taken him only to turn around and trade him to Houston, they’re still dropping to the bottom of the allocation table. So when Bobby Convey or Damarcus Beasley decides to come back to MLS, they no longer have a chance to take one of them.
So you can see why they weren’t willing to give up a top slot just to take this kid to maybe get a draftpick back from Houston. There is risk that is no high value players come home, there is no need for this type of draft, but I think they made the right move hoping one of the players I mentioned could fall into their laps.
San Jose is #1 and LA is #2. I agree they kind of got shafted in this, and I don’t know why Toronto should get any benefit.
In any case, it’s good for the league as a whole to have signed this prospect.
The allocation process made sense when the league started, but I think it’s time to ditch it. It was stupid the way Toronto held Chicago captive over the McBride thing. Former US Nats or rising stars should be able to play for their home team if they can fit within the salary cap and other roster regulations. I can’t wait for the new CBA.
@Nic0_7
Seattle’s allocation was Kasey Keller. Keller was just like McBride, a U.S. Nat coming home from Fulham.
At least this works within the framework of rules already in place. Thanks for clearing this up Ives.
If he hadn’t been claimed via the allocation process he would have presumably entered a draft lottery. Perhaps he signed contingent on only signing with FCD or Houston as mentioned thus removing the need for a lottery.
Worst news in this is that Mo picked up another international slot for 2 more seasons. So much for the CAN-con.
thanks Ives, as this begins to at least kind of clarify the situation.
@ Tim, you’re probably right, but that shouldn’t have stopped #1 or #2 from taking him and getting something out of Houston for the kid’s rights. maybe it wouldn’t have been much, but it would’ve been more than anything.
anyway, ultimately, it’s great that this kid is in MLS. it just stinks that MLS continues to come off so shady at times.
An article on ESPN said FG and his representatives said he would not move out of the state of Texas. So it was accomodate him or lose him to a foreign league.
Sounds similar to the way that Landon has only played for CA teams. Or that McBride only wanted to play in hometown area of Chicago. The MLS and it’s teams are still not strong enough to allow market forces rule player movement.
Zach – it’s to keep player cost down for everyone. It’s made the league very stable so far. I expect the restrictions to loosen up in the next 2-3 years.
God help us, MLS rules are moronic. A player allocation for two years? It’s like treating a sport like the options market.
Nico-7, they used their top allocation getting Kasey Keller.
He wouldnt go to 1 or 2. They probably only moved up so they could be ahead of Dallas.
Wouldn’t Seattle have been at the top of the allocation list? Unless they used one of the slots to acquire one of their internationals (Montero, Alonso, etc) or perhaps are holding onto to it for a future acquisition?
Please someone explain why MLS is so complicated. Why cant they just operate as individual teams and the team offering the highest gets him or the team where he wants to go.
Who is #1 & #2 and why didn’t they want him or require a pay-off?
So who was 1st and 2nd in line?
MLS rewrites what happened to fit its own archaic rules.
Makes more sense – and seems to adhere to the spirit of the MLS rules.