The business of sports means that sometimes you have to make a tough decision.
The Dynamo did just that on Friday, moving fan favorite Adam Moffat to the Seattle Sounders for midfielder Servando Carrasco and a second round pick in next year's SuperDraft.
It’s a move that the Dynamo believe can make them competitive in the present with the potential of making them better in the future.
“I’m a big fan of Adam’s and this trade wasn’t easy,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “Personally, it was a tough one, but on the other side of things, it’s something we possibly had to do either now or later.”
The move offers Houston salary cap relief while giving them a player that can fill a similar role to Moffat's.
According to sources, Kinnear and club president Chris Canetti met last week to sketch out a plan to help the club in both the short and long-term and part of that plan saw the Dynamo hit the trade market to try and make a move before Friday's roster freeze deadline.
Houston found a partner in Seattle willing to move a slightly younger player – Carrasco, 25, is two years younger than Moffat – that can help now and provides flexibility going forward.
And in Carrasco, who will join the club in Philadelphia ahead of a match with the Union on Saturday, the Dynamo get a player they feel has similar traits to Moffat and can help control the game from the center of midfield.
“He fits a similar role that Adam does,” Kinnear said. “From all accounts I hear he’s a great person on and off the field. From watching him and reports that I got from scouts about him I think he’ll fit in very well for us.”
The cost of bringing Carrasco to Houston, however, was a very popular player. Moffat has been a big part of two straight runs to the MLS Cup final and has endeared himself to fans, his teammates and the coaches alike. With Moffat, the Dynamo had a player that brought a hard-nosed nature to midfield and the ability to produce the unpredictable with a long-range shot.
But Moffat’s contract and a stacked depth chart at holding midfield, which includes Ricardo Clark and Warren Creavalle, opened the door for the move.
“The guys like him, the staff likes him, it’s a tough one,” Kinnear said. “He came by to say bye to everybody this morning and it was a tough one.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsocer.com.
