WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

Well crap, no more than two second after I hit save on the last post about Toronto FC releasing Laurent Robert to possibly make room for Carlos Ruiz, I get an update saying that Ruiz has been shipped off to Toronto.

Yep, the LA Galaxy have traded Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC, according to SBI. Details of the deal were not available yet, my assumptions are that LA will be getting a draft pick and allocation money in return.

The Galaxy’s dealing of Ruiz now clears the way for LA to sign U.S. national team midfielder/defender Eddie Lewis.

The more I think about this deal for Ruiz and Toronto, the more I like it. He will be paired with a young attack and a quality attacking midfielder in Amado Guevara, who is apparently good buddies with Ruiz. The Reds now appear to have a forward stable that includes Ruiz, Danny Dichio, Chad Barrett and teen standout Abdus Ibrahim. So there’s some depth to this team that could come in handy down the road.

Eddie Lewis should join the Galaxy by Thursday night’s game with Chicago. As we all know by now, the Galaxy had to move Ruiz’s salary off its salary cap in order to sign Lewis. The Galaxy secured Lewis’ services after using their No. 1 spot in the MLS allocation order. (Speaking of that MLS Allocation order, I will have an update for you all on that shortly.)

I think Toronto is coming out on top of this deal though. I know Ruiz hasn’t had a great year in LA but he was never really given the chance after his injury at the start of the year and with the amazing turn of things with Edson Buddle. LA kind of lucked out on that one and were able to put Ruiz on the trading block because of Buddle (and to a degree Landon Donovan).

Not to say that LA won’t come up empty on this. I love the addtion of Lewis to their roster. He should provide a nice addition to the defensive side of the midfield, something most LA fans would say has been missing all year. Plus to dump a hefty salary like Ruiz never hurts when cheaper parts are doing better on the field for you anyways.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see LA only get some allocation and maybe not even a first round draft pick in return. Remember Dallas didn’t get a whole lot in return when they shipped him off to LA in the winter, so I wouldn’t expect it to be any different this time around. But then again, LA is involved in this discussion so they could get everything and the kitchen sink in this deal.

Who do you think comes out on top in this deal? Will Guevara and Ruiz work well together, or will they cause problems if things don’t go well in Toronto?