The season is winding down in the Western Conference with every club still having a chance at the playoffs. Two of those clubs fighting to make the postseason made a significant upgrade to their rosters on Thursday. The Vancouver Whitecaps acquired 33-year-old Designated Player Mauro Rosales from Chivas USA for 30-year-old defensive midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.
Mauro Rosales joins his third club in the last eight months after being traded from the Seattle Sounders FC to Chivas USA in December of 2013; Rosales was dealt for young midfielder Tristan Bowen with the clubs exchanging spots in the allocation order. Seattle would use their spot to bring Marco Pappa back to Major League Soccer from SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands.
Rosales has amassed 12 goals and 42 assists in 107 career league matches since joining Seattle in March of 2011. His 42 assists ranks him second in the league behind Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis for most assists since 2011.
The acquisition is a positive one for the Whitecaps who are looking for another playmaker in the midfield. Vancouver has only scored eight goals in their last nine matches since the World Cup break. Rosales has eight assists on the season which would put him in second place on the Whitecaps roster.
Vancouver has been paced on offense by midfielder Pedro Morales who has scored seven goals on the season. Not only has Morales been the top scoring threat for Vancouver but he has also been the team's only playmaker with nine assists; nobody else on the team had more than three. Rosales will give Vancouver that second option in the midfield for the attack to run through which could open up more chances for Morales to shine.
On the other hand, Chivas USA brings over defensive midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker. Reo-Coker is a very talented player who has English Premier League experience with West Ham United and Aston Villa along with stops at Wimbledon, Bolton Wanderers and Ipswich Town.
If Reo-Coker is brought in and used a defensive midfielder he will add to an already solid core of defensive-minded players in that position. Chivas USA already has Oswaldo Minda, Agustin Pelletieri, Marky Delgado and Nathan Sturgis who already rotate in those central midfield spots.
This move could be a signal for a bigger move to come for the Goats who may be making a late play for United States Men's National Team costless-agent midfielder Jermaine Jones. Jones made a move from German side FC Schalke 04 to Turkish side Besiktas on a short-term deal in January that included a club option for Besiktas to extend the deal through 2016.
Jones had stated his desire to join Major League Soccer after the 2014 FIFA World Cup after seeing the positive transitions of teammates Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley back to the American league. One of preferences was to remain close to his family located in Los Angeles. That dream could become a reality for Jones now that Chivas has a designated player position open.