Daniel Ríos photo courtesy Nashville SC
Casual Thursday afternoon TomBomb:
Ríos is indeed on the way out, and though I can’t specifically confirm the numbers, Tom’s reporting requires no confirmation (any deviation from his report should be insignificant).
That’s a pretty good chunk of change for a guy who, while talented, was rarely healthy enough to see the field consistently, and saw numerous potential replacements – from CJ Sapong to Jhonder Cádiz to Aké Loba to Teal Bunbury to Ethan Zubak – get signed, with all but Cádiz still around. Nashville loses a bullet in the chamber, but just one of four bullets in the chamber for $350k-plus in allocation money is good business. While I think Ríos may very well have one of the higher talent/upside combinations in that group, the reliability factor leads to what is ultimately an easy business decision (if a difficult personal one, similar to the Alistair Johnston trade).
Ríos came to Nashville from North Carolina and his wife went to college in the state, so there are connections back to the Tar Heel State, even if they’re more Research Triangle oriented than in the Charlotte area. CFC is also a better chance for Ríos to see the field, so it’s likely better on a personal/professional level in the long run. In fact, Charlotte making smart pickups is… actually rare? This is one of the better moves of their roster build thus far. If he’s the player they think he is (and again – he’s probably even better than that if he can stay healthy), he should easily trigger Nashville’s incentives, too.
NSC’s sitting on a big pile of GAM right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a big incoming trade – that money will be used in part to fund the raises Brian Anunga, Aníbal Godoy, Randall Leal, and Dax McCarty got this offseason, for example. A major Nashville signing is more likely to come from outside the league (and with a DP spot available, such a signing would be unlikely to use much of any Allocation Money).
Club and Country 