A lot of speculation over the last week or so about a number of LA Galaxy players who would be on the chopping block for a trade or a release.

According to what a couple of sources tell me this afternoon, LA has traded Kevin Harmse to Toronto FC. Not that I don’t trust who’s telling me this but I will wait for more confirmation before I stamp this as a done deal.

I am hearing he was traded for a forth round pick in this deal.

Many expected Harmse to get traded or waived due to poor performance in training and the fact that he wasn’t apart of the roster that was sent over seas to Asia and to the Pan-Pacific Championship.

It makes sense for Harmse to go to Toronto since he is Canadian and plays for the Canadian National side. He won’t count against any international player spots on the roster and he will be a decent enough backup for Maurice Edu this season. I think that’s what makes this a smart move for Toronto due to the amount of US National team games that Edu should have this year.

LA is also said to be either trading Kelly Gray and/or Kyle Martino. If a trade doesn’t happen for either one of those guys most believe they will be waived by the club this weekend or early next week. I wouldn’t be too shocked to see Martino end up in San Jose if that is the case.

More on this to come once I get more information on it…

Update: Okay…its a done deal…and this proves it.

Really a TGIF kind of day for this Hooligan. Not a whole lot going on at the moment as most teams are out of the country or on their way out of the country for some pre-season camps. Couldn’t come at a better time for me since the lady-hooligan in my life has her birthday this weekend.

So what exactly is going on out there in the MLS world? Not much really…

Santino Quaranta is on trail with DC at the moment, apparently he has finally woken up and realized what kind of bust he has become. He’s hoping to come back to DC for less money (he made around $105k last year for LA/NY). Honestly it is good to see him set up and admit what kind of flop of a career he has had and try to work harder this time around and make a difference. I’ve seen him when he is on his game and he does have flashes of that special player that many hoped for when he came into the league a few years back. He’s only what, 23 right now?

Continue Reading…

…or so we think. Goff is reporting that Roberto Mina is staying with FC Dallas and has signed a one year deal with the club.

Not that I doubt Goff, neither does Buzz over at 3rdDegree, but we both still kind of question this due ot the amount of international spots that Dallas has on their roster.

Buzz has a list of international players and over on his roster dance he puts them out in clear view that nine is a crowd for Dallas at the moment. Also 10 and 11 could be in the mix as Dallas is still in talks with Reinaldo Navia and Polish defender Mariusz Mowlik is now being looked at as well to come on board with the club.

We all know you can only have eight international players on the roster and Dallas could be sitting in a tough spot here if they still want to sign the other two players soon.

Most figure that Marcelo Saragosa is either going to get traded or hope that his green card comes in earlier than expected, something that more than likely will not happen. Goff still thinks Mina could get traded, which would make just as much sense as Saragosa at this point in terms of what Dallas needs on the field. Colorado and probably San Jose are looking at Mina at this point for a possible trade.

Another thing that could happen is sending forward Ricardinho back to Brazil. He is currently on loan from their partner club CAP. That may be the most likely thing to happen here the more I think about it. Ricardinho hasn’t really broken out into a special player like some had hoped for when he came to the MLS last year.

Still, Dallas could end up trading Mina and/or Saragosa, send Ricardinho back to Brazil and then sign a couple guys and still be at the eight player limit for international spots on the roster. Could…but you never know right now with this club.

I’d put money down on a trade soon and possibly a ’send back’ since the club will be in Brazil this coming week.

While we have seen a heist of a trade go down this morning between San Jose and Toronto, other clubs are either watching the MLS in Philly announcement or are trying desperately to finalize deals to get salary cap compliant by Monday’s deadline.

Monday is the MLS deadline for teams to be compliant with the salary cap, as well as with their 18-player and 28-player rosters. This means clubs like Kansas City have to finalize deals with players like Claudio Lopez as soon as possible to make sure things are all good on the money side of things for this season. Now clubs can ask for an extension to the deadline, and in most cases if they are working on a deal for a designated player will ask for one regardless of getting something worked out just to be safe or not.

Kansas City should be fine though as far as being able to sign Lopez and Greg Lalas over at Goal.com and the host of (in my opinion the biggest waste of time) ExtraTime on MLSnet.com says that Lopez is “going to be signed by Kansas City.” Continue Reading…

Well over night a rumor became true. Toronto FC traded midfielder Ronnie O’Brien to San Jose for a major allocation and San Jose’s No. 1 draft pick in next year’s SuperDraft.

This is is a pretty big trade for both sides as it gives the Earthquakes their first actual offensive player and strong midfield play on the flank. Toronto clears some serious salary cap room as well as acquires an allocation valued at approximately $300,000 (that according to Ives), an allocation the Reds will use to either sign a foreign player or complete another significant trade with.

Interesting that San Jose parted with another first round draft pick again. Yallop is pulling a page out of Toronto’s book in that case because the Reds did something similiar last year with FC Dallas and traded away their first round draft pick, which ended up being the number two pick, and this should probably be the same case for San Jose as many expect this expansion side to stuggle in the coming year. Continue Reading…

Just when I thought I wasn’t going to hear about it today, I get a friendly phone call to tell me otherwise.

The MLS will announce Philadelphia as the league’s 16th team at 2pm on tomorrow at Turbine Hall in Chester, PA. MLS commissioner Don Garber and members of the Philadelphia expansion group will be in attendance for the event.

I know the Sons of Ben have already been putting together season ticket drives and will probably start competing nicely with Seattle’s season ticket numbers.

Don’t expect any other big news to come out of this tomorrow. I highly doubt club name, colors, and logo will be announced. Though if the expansion group is smart they stick with what the Sons of Ben already have, blue and yellow. I think that fits nicely for this club already.

Another small move of note this afternoon in the MLS. No SuperLiga news and no news in Philly about an expansion club (damn red tape delaying that). But a trade is done and ready to discuss…

The Columbus Crew have finally acquired a foreign forward, though however its not through a transfer like many would have hoped. The Ohio club lands Nicolas Hernandez, an Argentine who comes from Colorado in exchange for defender Tim Ward and a third-round draft pick.

The 28-year-old Hernandez had seven goals in 2006 but just one in 21 appearances last year for the Rapids. Ward, who turns 21 tomorrow, appeared in only six league matches in 2007 for the Crew.

I like this move for both clubs. Hernandez does add a striking option to the Crew, who desperately need a goal scoring option up top. I don’t know if Hernandez will be the best option but he is an option nonetheless. Colorado gets a Generation adidas player in Ward, which helps clear more space on their cap so they can sign Brazilian Reinaldo.