Brian Ching is back in a Dynamo uniform. (Getty Images)

The Brian Ching saga is over.

The Houston Dynamo have reacquired Ching from the Montreal Impact in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

Yes, just for a conditional draft pick. The Impact end up being the big losers on this deal after playing hardball back in November. At best they’ll likely end up with a second round pick next year. Nothing sexy about that for an expansion draft pick. This kind of move will likely make future expansion clubs think twice about trying to play the hardball game with other MLS teams over players like this.

Houston comes out looking like the real winners here as Ching returns to the club on a cheaper contract than before. They get the face of their franchise back, someone who holds many franchise records, including games played (fifth, 168), games started (fourth, 144), and assists (third, 24). His club record 63 goals is nearly twice the amount of the second player on the all-time list (Dwayne De Rosario, 32 goals).

Wilman Conde is back in MLS with the Red Bulls. (Getty Images)

This news had been around for some time. The New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire finally made it official today though. Wilman Conde is finally going to the Big Apple.

The fun part about this deal however is that it is really a few years too late. Conde wanted to be in New York when former Red Bull and Fire boss Juan Carlos Osorio was in the Big Apple. When Osorio left Chicago for New York, Conde demanded a trade to New York and it never went through.

Conde spent three seasons with the Fire – playing in 73 games, starting 66 and notching four goals and four assists – while  being named MLS Best XI in 2009 and earned All-Star nods in 2009 and 2010. The dude was impressive during his time in Chicago to say the least.

But will this translate well for the Red Bulls as a replacement for Tim Ream? Time will tell on that front.

New York has also signed  Swedish defender Markus Holgersson this winter to help beef up their defense. Both should be a vast improvement over the Ream/Marquez/Keel combos that the Red Bulls used last season.

Reports this morning suggest that the Fire are getting around $150k in return in allocation for Conde. That is some solid return in my opinion for a guy that might not be the same player that he was two or even three years ago.

One thing is certain, this deal is a big gamble on the part of the Red Bulls. Something they and their fans are all too familiar with. Possibly over spending yet again while giving up a good amount of allocation to a conference rival. In my book, you never make big deals with conference rivals. Never. Ever.

It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the Red Bulls got here with Conde. If he is the same guy that was in the league with the Fire, then they certainly got a heck of a player. If he is on the decline like some suggest then it will fall right in line with how this club typically spends. On paper this seems good but giving Conde’s track record and New York manager Hans Backe’s history with the club, this could be a very intriguing situation to watch this season.

The 31-year old Arnaud, played 10 seasons for Sporting Kansas City after being drafted in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft out of West Texas A&M. His 240 regular season games played are the most all-time in club history. Arnaud scored 43 goals and contributed 35 assists during his time with Sporting Kansas City, figures that rank second and third-most respectively on the club’s all-time scoring charts.

This move seemed like a no brainer to make for both sides. Montreal picked Sinovic last week in the expansion draft and probably tended to use him as trade bait. Grabbing a veteran midfielder like Arnaud seems like a good call to me. He seems like a guy that needed a change of location here to me and this move could end up working well much like the Jack Jewsbury trade did for both Kansas City and Portland a year ago.

Stephane Auvray and Thierry Henry are now teammates. (Getty Images)

In search of some midfield depth, the New York Red Bulls have gone out and made a deal today. The club has sent a 2nd round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft to Sporting Kansas City for Guadeloupe defensive midfielder Stephane Auvray.

It is an interesting deal considering the moves the Red Bulls have made this summer. First the club traded for Dwayne De Rosario then to only trade him weeks later to D.C. United for Dax McCarty. DeRo has become one of the hottest players in MLS since the deal and New York has struggled since.

New York is showing some desperation with this deal too. We know the club doesn’t favor draft picks but they’re picking up a pretty hefty salary in Auvray.

Auvray pretty much hasn’t played for KC since the Gold Cup and has been banged up a little bit as well. In a way this deal favors Sporting more than New York due to the fact that it gives KC a bit of cap room to go out and make that one final deal before the transfer deadline to sure up their defensive needs once and for all.

Dax McCarty is on the move yet again. (Getty Images)

Yes, this is indeed real. Dwayne De Rosario has been traded from the New York Red Bulls to D.C. United in exchange for Dax McCarty.

Let that one sink in for a moment. DeRo for Dax. Straight up.

De Rosario began the 2011 MLS season with Toronto FC, registering one goal and one assist in two matches before being dealt to the New York Red Bulls on April 1. Since then he has scored two goals and bagged four assists.

McCarty went to United on November 24, 2010 following the MLS Expansion Draft, in which the Portland Timbers acquired the midfielder with the first overall pick. McCarty had two assists on the season with D.C.

Man, talk about a trade that will certainly mix things up in the Eastern Conference. In a way I want to think that New York is getting the better end of this deal as McCarty will certainly be a solid addition to their midfield for Hans Backe. McCarty should thrive in New York’s possessional attack, he never really got a chance to shine in D.C. this season in my book.

As for the other side of the ball, DeRo going to his third team this season is baffling. I like the move for D.C. as it gives them an element in their attacking midfield that they’ve lacked this season. Its a gamble for sure as DeRo is always a tough guy to deal with in the locker room but if he shows up and leads, this club will certainly be pushed up into the playoff discussion here.

I also think that this could be a deal that DeRo wanted as New York was probably unlikely to give him the kind of money that he truly wants at the end of this season. My gut also tells me that New York could be opening up some cap space to sign a new keeper too. Just a hunch.

What do you make of this trade? Who got the better end of the deal?

The deals just keep on coming for FC Dallas and honestly I don’t see them stopping here with this news today. The club has announced they have acquired midfielder Andrew Jacobson from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for the club’s second round natural selection in the 2013 Major League Soccer SuperDraft,

“I’m very happy to have Andrew join FC Dallas,” said head coach Schellas Hyndman. “He’s a very good player, a center midfielder who will also go back in defense. He brings size to the team, but he’s also got very good soccer feet and might seem like a 5’10” player rather than his actual 6’2”. He comes from a great program under Kevin Grimes at Cal, and I see him contributing to this team immediately.”

This marks the second deal for FC Dallas this week, earlier they had sent defender Heath Pearce to Chivas USA. I see Jacobson getting time in the midfield behind veteran Daniel Hernandez or second-year player Eric Alexander. But this is a good depth sort of pick up for the club and one that is really cheap (he made the league minimum at $40k last year).

I also see this as a sign that Bruno Guarda’s time in Dallas could be up as well.

FC Dallas also announced the signing of their sixth Home Grown signing earlier today too. They inked 16-year old keeper Richard Sanchez to a Home Grown deal. I suspect the club won’t be done making deals here either. With a trip to Orlando coming up the roster will likely see another move take place once the club returns from the Disney tournament.

The 23-year old played in 10 games last season with Chivas while contributing one assist. He was acquired by Chivas USA in a weighted lottery after signing with MLS in July 2010.

The deal doesn’t seem to be a huge one but one that gives Portland another quality young midfielder. The allocation they sent probably wasn’t a a whole lot, at least not nearly as much as Chivas sent Dallas yesterday for Health Pearce.

Its late-July and that means its trade season in Major League Soccer. Today we have a good one to discuss. The Chicago Fire have sent midfielder Justin Mapp to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for allocation money.

The nine year veteran has spent most of his career with the Fire helping them win a US Open Cup in 2003 and in 2006.

Its a fairly big move for the Fire, it shows they are re-doing some of their roster here and are getting a new look in some ways. Philadelphia on the other hand gets a veteran in the midfield that they need and some much needed depth on the wings. For the Union I really like this move as Mapp was in need of a location change in my eyes.

What do you make of this move? Fire give away Mapp for too little here? Or is this a fair deal?

I mentioned earlier that Kevin Hartman could be on his way to Dallas and that appears to be the case. Buzz Carrick is now reporting that Hartman has come to terms on a deal with Dallas.

The terms of the deal aren’t confirmed yet but a good bet it will be some form of allocation and maybe a SuperDraft pick. Hartman was never waived by KC so Dallas has to give up something to gain his player rights under the current, yet expired CBA.

Look for this to be a very interesting keeper battle between Dario Sala and Hartman. Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has said all winter long that he was pleased with Sala but keep down I think he knows he needs someone else in goal to make this club a true contender.

Dallas is also looking to send backup keeper Josh Lambo out on loan, likely to a USSF Division II club this season (most likely a USL club, not a NASL one).

I’ll update this with more information as I get it.

Update: Just got a press release with the details on this deal. KC gets a second round pick in the 2012 SuperDraft. Guess KC really wanted to be free of this dude.

So which west coast team will end up with Gil? The one who gives up the most of course. KC is interested in an international slot for starters, according to Down the Byline the Wizards are after either a midfielder or a defender (article mentions midfielder but this Tweet talks defense).

I’d imagine some allocation would be apart of the mix here if not maybe a future draft pick. Or both, someone could be desperate to get Gil here for all we know.

So what are the odds? Its a four team race as I am concerned with LA and Seattle having the bet shot at trading for Gil. Most fans want to see him go to either place as both Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid are great with young players. But don’t sleep on Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake here either.

Once we hear who deals for Gil I’ll have an update here.

Update: Looks as though KC is hoping to hold on to him a little bit longer here. The Wizards want to see if Gil is interested in coming to KC (yeah right) before they take offers from Seattle, RSL and probably the two LA teams. Honestly it sounds like none of the clubs offered the right deal to KC for Gil here, maybe a day or two of dealing will get it sorted out.