Carlos Ruiz could be the spark the Union need in Philadelphia. (Getty Images)

Just when we thought both Luciano Emilio and Carlos Ruiz were done with Major League Soccer, one club is hoping to get one or even both of them back before next week’s MLS transfer window deadline.

The Philadelphia Union have been working long and hard to sign former D.C. United striker Emilio but issues with a trade from D.C. have come up. Apparently United is playing hardball in a way of getting back at Philadelphia for doing the same back in January when the clubs made a deal to get Troy Perkins back in D.C.

But now according to SBI, Philadelphia has their eyes set on Ruiz. Getting Ruiz will be a tad bit easier than getting Emilio’s player rights from D.C. Right now no MLS club has player rights to Ruiz and oddly enough Philadelphia has a discovery claim on him.

Ruiz is currently playing for Mexican First Division club Puebla along side another former MLS alum Herculez Gomez.

Think about it for a moment, either the Union having Emilio and Ruiz together or one of them alongside Alejandro Moreno. The Emilio-Ruiz combo seems like a possibly deadly one that could take the expansion side up the standings. We know the club struggled offensively in their MLS debut two weeks ago, adding one or both of these guys would be a major upgrade even if you don’t like them.

The possible Ruiz-Moreno combo could also be comical to watch. Both are notorious divers.

Both may not be the same players they once were but I’d be willing to bet at least one of them would do well in Philadelphia under Peter Nowak. Its only a matter of time to see exactly what happens here.

What do you make of either of these guys coming back to MLS to play for Philadelphia?

With De Rosario going home, what else does it mean for the Reds? (Getty Images)

Not only has Toronto FC sold out their season tickets for 2009, they finally get the chance to showcase their home boy Dwayne De Rosario.

I’ve said many times that I thought Toronto should and would make this deal happen. Today they finally pulled the trigger on the move.

While it looks good on paper it means a few other things will probably go down as well.

We all know that the club is still looking to sign a designated player for the upcoming season. That player will more than likely be a striker.

That probably means Carlos Ruiz’s time in Toronto is looking to be over really quickly. Mainly I just can’t see the club keep Ruiz, DeRo, and a DP contract on the books for next year.

What to do with Carlos Ruiz is always a question. Some have said he is going home to Guatemala in some kind of transfer this winter. Others have said he will figure a way to stick it out in Toronto. And then there are those that have said he will get trade, again, to some unknown MLS club.

With a guy like De Rosario in the mix does Toronto even need Ruiz? I think the answer is no. Even more so if that DP talk ends up working out for them this winter.

But maybe the question now is, do they even need a DP now that they go DeRo? That one I will wait and answer later.

Then you look at the roster some more and wonder how well the DeRo – Amado Guevara combo will work out in Toronto. I have to say that is one combo I want to see for a game or two. How John Carver sets that one up I don’t know, I would imagine similar to how things in Houston were for DeRo, be an attacking-midfielder with Guevara set below him in the middle. Who knows.

I have a feeling another trade is in the works here for a player leaving Toronto. I don’t know who but I just have a feeling the dealing is only starting here in Toronto.

Let’s hear your thoughts on this deal. What does it mean for Toronto here? Keep Ruiz or not? And will they go after a DP too?

Now I will stay away from the allocation trades and things like that. So you won’t see a grade for Brian McBride or Will Johnson or guys in that category since clubs signed them, even though allocation position was traded. We can do grades on guys like that later on.

Interestingly enough, only Columbus is missing from the trade game this season. They’ve made some moves (and yes I know they traded for Pat Noonan’s rights) but haven’t gone after a player from another club like some teams have this season. Very interesting, maybe that is why they are on top of the standings and everyone else is looking up at them.

But as for how the other trades have gone this year, here is what I am giving them. Feel free to discuss trades involving your clubs or moves you thought worked out well this year.

Chad Barrett to Toronto FC: For the most this move has worked out well for this club. He’s produced and has actually been fairly consistent with his play. Not to mention he’s signed a contract extension with the club already.WVH Trade Grade: A-

Arturo Alvarez to San Jose Earthquakes: Alvarez wasn’t going to cut it in Schalles Hyndman’s system so a move was going to happen. San Jose was the best destination for him and so far this move has worked out well for the Quakes as they’ve made a serious push for the playoffs in recent weeks.  WVH Trade Grade: A

Abdus Ibrahim to Toronto FC: He had to leave Dallas due to family issues but I must say Toronto got a hell of a deal with this kid. We may not see it on the field this year but in years to come he will end up being a big time player in this league. WVH Trade Grade: A

Ivan Guerrero to DC United: Guerrero didn’t work out well enough in San Jose but his move to the Nation’s Capital has worked out. He’s been a quality addition to DC’s midfield play and has established himself as a starter. WVH Trade Grade: B+

Preston Burpo to Colorado Rapids: Smart move really to land this veteran keeper by Colorado. San Jose was wise to get him even though they had Joe Cannon. Once the season got going they knew Burpo would be instant trade bait. Colorado took it and he has actually become a starter in recent weeks for the Rapids. So this trade worked out for everyone. WVH Trade Grade: B+

Jeff Cunningham to FC Dallas: A trade I called for a while back that actually happened. I think its working out well despite the results for Dallas right now. Cunningham and Kenny Cooper showed last night that they can work well together given the proper time to get use to one another. The results will come and I think Cunningham is a perfect fit for Dallas. WVH Trade Grade: B+

Kei Kamara to Houston Dynamo: Dominic Kinnear searching for this year’s Joseph Ngwenya. I think he found it too. WVH Trade Grade: B

Scott Sealy to San Jose Earthquakes: The Quakes got a steal in this deal I thought. Sealy is a good scorer when he is given the chance. Out in San Jose he will and has been given a solid chance with Frank Yallop. Not to mention his price tag is really cheap, which makes this deal even better for the Quakes. For KC it was kind of a bad move now that we look at it since they are having to trade their way back into things up top. WVH Trade Grade: B

Pat Phelan to New England Revolution: Phelan is definitely a Steve Nicol kind of guy. Toronto needed to make room on their roster so moving the young rookie was the thing to do (though stupid on their part because Phelan is a solid player). I think in years to come we will see more of a value in this move but I still think looking back on it was the right move for the Revs. WVH Trade Grade: B-

Zach Thornton to Chivas USA: I think they over spent for this one though they did need a keeper at the time when Brad Guzan left for England. But at least Thornton is getting another chance. WVH Trade Grade: C-

Carey Talley to Chivas USA: Decent trade but Talley hasn’t been all that big for Chivas this season. WVH Trade Grade: D+

Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC: Its a gamble for Toronto but from what I’ve read its a smart one even if he doesn’t produce anything. I believe they won’t be on the hook for him next year in terms of salary. Honestly I don’t see him in Toronto next year anyways or in MLS for that matter. Still if he can score a few before the end of the year it will be good. But for now its been a bit of a bad gamble. WVH Trade Grade: D+

Joey Franchino to LA Galaxy: Some said at the time this was a smart move for the Galaxy. Uh, yeah I said it was a pointless move. And it still is, definitely an Alexi Lalas move. WVH Trade Grade: F

Jovan Kirovski to San Jose Earthquakes: An early season move that was a bit of a waste. Does Jovan even play any more? He may be hurt for all I know. Anyways this wasn’t a great move afterall. WVH Trade Grade: F

Chris Pozniak to Chivas USA: Another waste. They ended up waiving him. WVH Trade Grade: F

Herculez Gomez to Kansas City Wizards: When he is on his game he is one of the better young strikers in the league. The thing is he fades away too much. I think KC will be a good place for him if he gets his time but he needs people feeding him the ball, and if Claudio Lopez is doing that this move could end up being good. I won’t grade it though until I see him in a Wizards kit. WVH Trade Grade: Incomplete

Abe Thompson to Kansas City Wizards: Another player that if you give him his time he will score lots of goals for you. He did that here and there in Dallas, and in big spots too. Thing is he comes and goes and that isn’t a good thing for a club making a playoff push. Like Gomez I won’t grade it until I see him on the field with his new club. WVH Trade Grade: Incomplete

The Fish has landed with his new club on the way to this retreat. Good news too and probably a huge sigh of relief out of Carver who’s had to dodge Ruiz questions all week.

“It’s a chance for him to get to know the guys, and get in amongst them,” Carver said.

“I’m not going to bring him in and have a war against him (and) I think that’s what happened in L.A.,” said Carver, referring to the rocky relationship between Ruiz and Ruud Gullit, the Galaxy’s former coach. “This is a guy you might have to cuddle.”

Rightfully so. A gutsy move by a coaching staff that is in the middle of a playoff race. Toronto currently sits a couple points out of contention in the east. Getting the distractions and regrouping as a team though at this time of the year is not a bad thing at all. These kinds of things either do a lot of harm or a lot of good. That is why they bumped this trip up from later on in the season.

Plus it is a chance to play on the el naturel of surfaces.

“We’re going to take them up to Blue Mountain resort, wherever that is,” Carver said after yesterday’s 90-minute practice. “It’s a great opportunity to train on grass.”

You think these guys can’t wait until BMO Field gets a natural surface next year? I think so. But what do you make of a club like Toronto doing such a thing this time of the year? Will it pay off for the club who has seen a lot of change in recent weeks or will it do more harm?

• LA Galaxy ships striker Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC for a first and second round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and salary budget considerations.

• The Galaxy also sign veteran midfielder/defender Eddie Lewis.

First off, Ruiz gets dealt for TWO supplemental picks and “budget considerations.” Good lord have the mighty fallen hard. That is just laughable at this point. Toronto gets an absolute steal of a deal really. If anyone comes out on top it has to be Toronto. Even if Ruiz doesn’t produce well while he is there its still a cheaper deal for them considering the lack of talent that comes out of the Supplemental Draft anymore.

LA doesn’t come up short handed though either, I love the addition of Lewis.

So for the last time, who comes out on top here now that we see it all laid out?

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?

Robert started in 16 of 17 games scoring one goal and adding three assists.

Kinda of a surprise release to me. I’m not sure if it was a personal kind of decision on Robert’s part in that he asked for a release or if the club is just trying to change things up by getting rid of some salary to make room for someone else like Carlos Ruiz.

From all that I’ve heard from Galaxy-land is that they will be looking to swing some deals by at least Thursday of this week. They have another Primetime match this week against the Fire. The Galaxy and their new boss Bruce Arena are hoping to land Eddie Lewis before long and to do so would mean shipping Ruiz off.

What do you make of this release by Toronto? Think it is a precursor to land Ruiz?

Right now according to Ives Galarcep, Toronto FC seems like the most likely destination for Ruiz. They have loads of allocation (which LA is desperate for right now) and have a large need for a quality striker.

Don’t be too shocked to see a deal go down in the coming days. I know I sound like a broken record on that one but LA wants to get Lewis sign as soon as possible here and moving Ruiz is really the only way possible to do so.

Its a good deal overall for the Galaxy too. I do like the addition of Lewis to their roster if they can work it all out because having a stronger midfield would certainly ease the pressure on their sloppy defense. Lewis would help provide that ease of pressure.

Plus getting rid of Ruiz as we all know will probably do wonders for this club. I think John Carver could get a lot out of Ruiz in Toronto. I know it isn’t a sexy destination for him but he has to believe that he could make a large impact on that club. Plus, like I’ve said before, having Ruiz and Amado Guevara on the same roster would give people another reason to hate Toronto. That kind of hatred would fuel some heavy passion around the league and folks that is a good thing to have this time of year.

What do you all make of Ruiz possibly going to Toronto here? Good or bad?

This is another one of those deals that we’ve been waiting for a while now to come to a conclusion. Will the LA Galaxy trade striker Carlos Ruiz or won’t they? It’s been a strange few weeks really but today I’ve got more word that they are still shopping him and a new party has entered the game, Toronto FC.

Apparently the two sides have been in talks for a couple days now about working out a deal for the striker. I said earlier in the week when we got word that Ruiz finally got his green card that I wouldn’t be shocked to see Toronto enter the sweepstakes for him before long.

Many thought Toronto would be involved a deal with LA and Chicago over the Brian McBride saga. Some thought it would be a mega three-way deal sending Ruiz to Toronto – while McBride ended up in Chicago – and Wilman Conde went to LA. That deal as we all know never happened and from what I heard was never even on the table to begin with.

So what exactly would Toronto give up if they are in serious talks for Ruiz? Probably a draft pick and money. I honestly see no other player being involved in this deal.

To think, Toronto could have to of the most hated players in all of MLS on their roster, Amado Guevara dna Ruiz. I just wonder if the Toronto fans could get behind Ruiz at this point in the year. If he starts scoring then you can bet your house on it that they would but if he is the same flopping fish that we are  use to seeing right now then it would be a waste of a deal in my mind.

What do you all think of this news? Should Toronto make a serious push for Ruiz? If so, what should they give up in return?

Yesterday, SI.com’s Jonah Freedman uncovered some very interesting things going on with the Galaxy, AEG president and CEO Tim Lieweke visited the Galaxy locker room last week and issued an ultimatum that if the team didn’t straighten things out that there would be “dire consequences.”

As we’ve seen before things are too peachy with General Manager Alexi Lalas and head coach Ruud Gullit. It seems as though now days Gullit and Lalas are not getting along too well. Big shocker huh?

I talked about it last week that Lalas’s job was probably entering it’s final hours. After yesterday’s loss the Galaxy are quickly playing themselves out of the playoff picture. Its not that the offense isn’t working, no its still the same issues in defense and in the defensive part of the midfield that are causing the most problems.

With a big match against rivals Chivas USA looming in the distance, is it time for someone to get the boot in Hollywood? I can’t see it being Gullit here, so that would have to mean Lalas right? Or will this club finally step up and address the one need that they really need, a defensive midfielder? The same question has to be asked of if they are going to trade Carlos Ruiz or not here soon.

Honestly, a move that could happen based on money and overall need for two clubs is a trade with Colorado for LA. Trade Ruiz to the Rapids and get Pablo Mastroeni in return. I know Mastroeni is looking to go elsewhere after this year or hell even right now but this is a deal they both should make. Ruiz adds some much needed fire power to the Rapids who have been largely inconsistent in that department all year. LA gets their biggest hole filled by Mastroeni in the defensive side of the midfield.

Its a trade no one has talked about yet but its one that needs to happen. Call me crazy if you will but it could save a couple jobs if everything works out.

What do you all think will happen here? Some trades, some firings? What?