COMMERCE CITY – With each passing game, the 2023 Colorado Rapids season appears to be nothing more than a fight to avoid the notorious “Wooden Spoon” award. The team is in a complete rebuild and this week’s trades continued to indicate just that. Michael Barrios, Anthony Markanich, and Bryan Acosta have all packed their bags and left Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in a series of cost-cutting moves and acquisition of 2024 capital.
A Fan Favorite Departs
It was announced on Thursday morning that Michael Barrios had been traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for a 2024 first round pick and $50,000 in conditional 2024 GAM. The move is essentially a salary dump for the Rapids, as Barrios’ career in Colorado had stagnated.
Barrios’ arrival in January of 2021 was met with hopeful enthusiasm at first, as he had flashed the ability to be one of the league’s more dangerous threats out wide during his time in Dallas. In 2017, he recorded 14 assists during the regular season, only to improve on that number by notching 15 assists in 2019.
His first campaign in burgundy colors was very promising, where he contributed eight goals and six assists as the Rapids finished 1st in the Western Conference.
Unfortunately for Barrios and Colorado, it seems like those were the end of his best days. Barrios’ main threat had always been his explosiveness and speed down the wing, and it seemed like he lost some of it after that season. In the following season and a half before being traded to Los Angeles this week, the 32-year-old Colombian was only able to muster four goals and ten assists in 54 MLS appearances.
Braian Galván’s return from ACL and meniscus injury relegated Barrios to appearances off the bench in 2023, as he only started seven of the 20 games he played. Michael Barrios’ Rapids career will always feel like he might’ve been the right player, but at the wrong time.
Rapids Sacrifice Some Youth
Anthony Markanich’s departure might have come to a surprise to Rapids’ fans, as the 23-year-old’s potential could have seen him be a part of the rebuild. Andrew Gutman storming onto the scene as the left back of the present and the future certainly aided in rendering Markanich expendable. With that being said, there is no real justification for the move other than him potentially not being a part of Smith and Robin Fraser’s plans for the future.
The Northern Illinois graduate will be heading to the leaders of the West, St. Louis City, in return for another 2024 first round pick and $150,000 in conditional 2024 GAM. Markanich leaves the Rapids after one and a half seasons, with six starts in 13 MLS appearances.
Bryan Acosta’s relentless drive and dog-nosed play in midfield had been a great asset for Colorado in the past two seasons, although it never actually translated into any success. Just hours after the Markanich trade, it was announced that Bryan Acosta had been traded to the Portland Timbers in exchange for up to $325,000 in 2024 GAM.
Acosta, like Barrios, endeared himself to the fans throughout his time in Colorado(particularly this season), but wasn’t able to fill in Kellyn Acosta’s shoes after the latter’s move to LAFC last season. The 29-year-old Honduran international was one of Colorado’s highest earners this season, and getting his $675,000 base salary off the books is a shrewd move considering the current state of the team. Acosta appeared in 40 MLS matches during his time in Colorado, with 35 starts and four assists.
What Now?
Barrios’ departure does free up an international slot and provides Rapids president Pádraig Smith with an additional first round pick. Assuming the Galaxy continues to struggle near the bottom of the West this season(there has been little indication to prove the contrary) the Rapids could find themselves with two top five picks in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, in addition to St. Louis’ pick.
While the strength of MLS draft classes has certainly diminished in recent years, there is still hope that Colorado could find at least one player of value in 2024. Smith has been proactive through the draft in recent years, acquiring difference-makers such as Andre Shinyashiki and Moïse Bombito.
The rebuild is officially underway for the Rapids, and there are a myriad of problems within the team to be addressed. Colorado fans have every right to be unhappy with the front office and ownership, as there has been a lack of direction for some time. Although the late trades during this window yielded nothing in the immediate future, they are clever moves that could prove crucial for next season’s roster. In return for the trio of Barrios, Markanich and Acosta, the Rapids received two 2024 first round picks, up to $525,000 in 2024 GAM, and cleared nearly $1.5 million worth of salaries.
Photo Credit: Antonia Geiger, emdashphoto.com.
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3 thoughts on “Analyzing the Latest Rapids Transactions”
Trading players for draft picks… so MLS 2.0
This FO is a joke and has been for years, yet all Smith gets is promotions.
You know how we know the FO is a joke? We have a record like our current one and there is zero talk of the coach being on the hot seat. Rightfully so, Fraser is an excellent coach working with a team that would have been average in 2015 MLS. It’s a tacit admission that we don’t have the talent to win and haven’t since we gutted the team after 2020.
Rebuild??? We aren’t “re” building anything. We need to start over. Yet all we see are collecting draft picks nobody else wants and getting fed the same old line.
Yes, there are diamonds in the rough in the draft. But it can’t be your primary pipeline for talent. Especially when your transfer strategy revolves around fringe players for bottom tier Premier League teams and Australia’s backup left back.
Oh sure, we went out and signed some better players after those two predictably bombed. But the core strategy that led to those signings in the first place is still the approach and so taking two transfer windows to fill the same needs on the field will continue to happen.
It’s not like anybody is gonna get fired for doing it.
[…] sort of. This week on Holding The High Line, Red gives Rabbi a week off. He solo pods to discuss the few loose ends from the transfer window. He celebrates Michael Barrios. There’s updates on the arrivals of […]
[…] exchange for draft picks and GAM, Colorado parted ways with Michael Barrios, Anthony Markanich, and Bryan Acosta. Marko Ilic saw his loan move finalized into a permanent deal, Andrew Gutman was acquired from […]
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Matt Pollard 
Brendan Ploen 
Trading players for draft picks… so MLS 2.0
This FO is a joke and has been for years, yet all Smith gets is promotions.
You know how we know the FO is a joke? We have a record like our current one and there is zero talk of the coach being on the hot seat. Rightfully so, Fraser is an excellent coach working with a team that would have been average in 2015 MLS. It’s a tacit admission that we don’t have the talent to win and haven’t since we gutted the team after 2020.
Rebuild??? We aren’t “re” building anything. We need to start over. Yet all we see are collecting draft picks nobody else wants and getting fed the same old line.
Yes, there are diamonds in the rough in the draft. But it can’t be your primary pipeline for talent. Especially when your transfer strategy revolves around fringe players for bottom tier Premier League teams and Australia’s backup left back.
Oh sure, we went out and signed some better players after those two predictably bombed. But the core strategy that led to those signings in the first place is still the approach and so taking two transfer windows to fill the same needs on the field will continue to happen.
It’s not like anybody is gonna get fired for doing it.
[…] sort of. This week on Holding The High Line, Red gives Rabbi a week off. He solo pods to discuss the few loose ends from the transfer window. He celebrates Michael Barrios. There’s updates on the arrivals of […]
[…] exchange for draft picks and GAM, Colorado parted ways with Michael Barrios, Anthony Markanich, and Bryan Acosta. Marko Ilic saw his loan move finalized into a permanent deal, Andrew Gutman was acquired from […]