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Mauro Rosales' fate has been decided. The former Seattle Sounders Designated Player has been traded to Chivas USA in exchange for Tristan Bowen's rights and, perhaps more importantly, the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Ranking. As part of the trade, Chivas USA will take the Sounders' No. 13 spot in the Allocation Ranking.
"Mauro has been an important part of our organization, both on and off the field, for the past three years," Sounders General Manager Adrian Hanauer said in a team release. "It will be difficult to see him leave, but our salary cap situation made this decision necessary. We wish Mauro the very best at Chivas."
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Earlier in the day, Rosales had tweeted out that he was leaving the Sounders. Until now, it was unclear what, exactly that meant. It turns out, the Sounders were able to swing a trade for the midfielder just ahead of the MLS Re-Entry Draft, which will be conducted on Thursday.
Rather than losing Rosales for nothing -- which is what the Sounders would have received if he had been picked in either stage of the Re-Entry Draft -- the Sounders will get a couple of intriguing pieces.
Bowen, who will turn 23 next month, was once a highly prized prospect. The LA Galaxy made him the league's first official Homegrown Player in 2008, signing him as a 17-year-old. In 2010, he worked himself into the regular rotation, making 17 appearances and 10 starts. He also scored two goals and had two assists in 878 minutes.
In what was seen as a bit of a surprising move, he was traded across town to Chivas USA. He ultimately found himself at the end of the bench of a pretty bad team, playing just 60 minutes and was ultimately loaned out to a second-division Belgian team where he failed to really make a mark.
After another year spent mostly on the bench in 2012, Bowen experienced a bit of a resurgence in 2013. He set career highs with 15 starts and 1,173 minutes while scoring twice and registered a pair of assists. Among his goals was this beauty against the Vancouver Whitecaps:
Bowen is currently out of contract, meaning the Sounders still must come to terms with the forward. He was making about $150,000 in guaranteed compensation last year and would likely have to take a pay cut.
Of some note is that Bowen's brother, Travis, was one of the last trialists the Sounders cut before the start of this season.
The Allocation Ranking spot could be the key to this deal, though. D.C. United is the only team now ahead of the Sounders, meaning they can reasonably start talking to players who might be interested in returning to MLS. Of course, this was the same thinking behind the Sounders' move to acquire Chivas USA's Allocation Ranking spot last year in the Shalrie Joseph trade. As it turned out, the Sounders were never able to use it.
