The other shoe in the Christian Tiffert signing has dropped and it's Alvaro Fernandez's departure. The Seattle Sounders midfielder, who first announced that he was leaving the team via Twitter, has been traded to the Chicago Fire in exchange for allocation money, the team announced on Friday. The move presumably clears the way for Christian Tiffert to be announced as the team's newest Designated Player.

"We would like to thank Alvaro for his contributions to the club over the last two years and wish him well in the next chapter of his career with the Fire," Sounders part-owner and General Manager Adrian Hanauer said in a team release.

Per league policy, the amount of allocation money involved in the trade was not disclosed. It is the second time the Sounders have traded a DP to the Fire, as they shipped Freddie Ljungberg there during the 2010 season.

Fernandez leaves the Sounders with a checkered playing resume. At times, he very much lived up to his DP status. He scored nine goals in league play last year and has scored some significant goals for the team in both league and CONCACAF Champions league play. But he also had a tendency to disappear at times, notably going his first 12 games of this season without a goal. He has scored in each of his past two games, though.