Colorado Rapids Roster Decisions: Burgundy Wave Reacts

COMMERCE CITY – This past Tuesday, the Colorado Rapids announced their year-end roster decisions ahead of the 2024 MLS season. Now that Burgundy Wave has attended the press conference with Club President Pádraig Smith and new Head Coach Chris Armas, let’s react. Let’s start with the decisions themselves.

Option exercised (3): Andrew Gutman, Calvin Harris, Ralph Priso

Out of contract (2): Luis Díaz, Diego Rubio

Loan expired (1): Danny Leyva

Option declined (7): Sebastian Anderson, Steven Beitashour, Oliver Larraz, Jack Price, Abraham Rodriguez, Gustavo Vallecilla, William Yarbrough

In Discussions (3): Sebastian Anderson, Oliver Larraz, William Yarbrough

As of today, the Rapids roster stands as follows:

Goalkeepers (1): Marko Ilić

Defenders (11): Lalas Abubakar, Moïse Bombito, Daniel Chacón, Michael Edwards, Alex Gersbach, Andrew Gutman, Aboubacar Keita, Andreas Maxsø, Keegan Rosenberry, Jackson Travis, Danny Wilson

Midfielders (7): Max Alves, Cole Bassett, Braian Galván, Sam Nicholson, Connor Ronan, Ralph Priso, Sidnei Tavares

Forwards (5): Kévin Cabral, Calvin Harris, Jonathan Lewis, Rafael Navarro, Darren Yapi

The options exercised mostly make sense:

Picking up Andrew Gutman’s option was a no-brainer. Calvin Harris had a good arc to the 2023 campaign, albeit with a slow start. He’s definitely one the kids worth betting on next year. Reviews on Ralph Priso are mixed. But he’s still making under six figures and maybe Armas has some plans for him as a No. 6.

Let’s touch on the departing players:

We already knew about Price and Rubio. Read more on that here. In the press conference today, Smith referenced Price expecting his second child and thinking it was a good time to go back to England. They wanted to get younger in attack and that prompted parting ways with Rubio. Both players had a reaction on social media to those comments (shoutout to Jeff Brantley).

My sense is that it was a somewhat mutual but tough decision on Price. Maybe his return to play protocol wasn’t going as well as the club wanted. He clearly loved it here and there’s a scenario where he re-signs. For Rubio, it’s clear the club was the one initiating the breakup. Both players probably wanted to stay on some level and believe they could have helped turn things around in 2024.

Luis Díaz, not surprised. He was a waiver rental and didn’t do much to impress. Steven Beitashour still wants to play but he’ll be 37-years-old in February. If he wasn’t willing to take a 2022 Drew Moor role, I get parting ways if it gives a younger player more minutes.

Gustavo Vallecilla was a sunk cost getting sent on loan to Columbus Crew back in March. Jason Maxwell from View From The Couch said it best. This was an overpriced panic buy that did not work out. It is one of the worst interleague deals Smith has made. This does open up a U22 Initiative spot though.

Abraham Rodriguez leaving the club is something. Smith did not elaborate on the nature of that decision when asked. Abe Rod’s posted a heartfelt goodbye on Instagram. They weren’t the words of a guy who wanted out or asked not to be retained. He’s listed at 5’8″. That’s always had me suspicious of his MLS potential. Choosing to move on from is the club is a statement. Adam Beaudry turns 18 in April. Maybe he signs a homegrown deal soon.

Colorado has 24 players on the roster as of today. There should be more departures. Burgundy Wave has reported Lewis will not be back. Danny Wilson, Alex Gersbach, and Sam Nicholson could leave as well. This is not yet a rebuild with more than 20 players coming back from last year.

On the players in negotiations:

Smith said today that they are close with the young players and they could announce them in the coming days. Anderson and Larraz probably want assurances they will have a shot with the first team under Armas. The club probably wants longer deals to control their futures if they come good.

Yarbrough is an interesting one. The organization has signaled they like Ilić. Does Yarbrough want to come back as the presumed backup? Does the club only want him back if he takes a pay cut? Can he find a better situation elsewhere?

Also, about Max . . .

Max Alves is still under contract with the Rapids. It’s been almost six months since news broke of the investigation into his sports gambling. He has not been involved in team activities since. It’s not clear when the investigation in Brazil will finish. 2024 is a guaranteed year for him. Seeing his name on the roster was a reminder of his existence and of how weird 2023 was. Who knows if he’ll ever player for the club again.

Photo Credit: John Babiak.

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