Real Salt Lake selects 4 players via the MLS Supplemental draft

The reality is that RSL lost 9 players in the off season, they will need to be replaced. If you are expecting some major signing well I hate to tell you that it is very unlikely to happen, there isn’t any cap room. We paid to take the option on Fabi and signed Ned to a new deal, we have a ton less allocation money than we had last year. So while they might bring in a veteran player at some point, it isn’t likely to be a big name.

Instead you are very likely to see at least 4 of our draft picks make the roster and maybe even more, with 30 roster spots available and spots 21-30 not counting against the cap, I expect we will offer a number of our draft picks some of those “Off Budget” spots

RSL spent most of the year missing Javi, we had to deal with Saborio being injured for the first half of the season, we had the short preseason with Champions League, we also had no expectations of Luis Gil or Chris Schuler. Each of those are issues that we won’t be dealing with, just the addition of Javi back into the lineup is enough to make RSL better.

The two main losses we had were Robbie Russell and Andy Williams, replacing either of them is going to be difficult, but we have added great depth to the midfield with Enzo and Sebastian. We have two guys who can likely work their way into the rotation of our outside backs, I actually am hugely excited at picking up Leone Cruz. He was my 1st choice for RSL to take in the draft last year before they traded the pick, while Seattle had great depth at outside back last year and didn’t need him, clearly RSL thought enough to bring him in for a trial last year as well as having him work with our reserves.

I would remind you that Nat wasn’t a huge name when we picked him up, neither was Robbie Russell, and Wingert was a role player for Colorado. So I wouldn’t dismiss signing a non-big name player.

I also don’t think think LA has done anything to get better than they were last year, and Seattle is in the same boat of not really having made any big moves. Colorado, FC Dallas haven’t done anything that I consider huge moves.

I think RSL didn’t need major moves, they needed to just get younger and cheaper, both out of necessity.

You have to remember that going into the 2011 season we had allocation money from Champions League (the further you go the more you get) allocation money from the trade of our 1st round draft pick, and in compensation for losing Robin. This year we get a smaller portion of Champions League money and none of the other funds.

They have a little money, but remember that when we first sign a player from overseas they usually aren’t making a huge amount of money. The options are expensive for many players, and often there are additional factors involved. The team hasn’t made any moves yet because they are trying to get finalized deals for Paulo Jr. and Yordany, both who could be huge players for us into the future.

As much as you might like a move to change things now, the reality is that the team is planning for the next 24 months, advancing and winning the Champions League, making another solid run at MLS Cup, and in the US Open Cup but the prize at the end is simply advancing to the Club World Cup. I doubt they would announce anyone until they actually sign them, that doesn’t mean that a number of players won’t be on trial or with the team during the preseason.

What I see is the team making moves to get younger and reduce their cap hit, the cap went up 5% from last year but every player gets at least a 5% raise with some getting 10-15% raises per their contracts. Almost all of our draft picks played the full 4 years in college, which is a huge advantage in getting players ready. Just look at Chris Schuler for proof of that.