The Colorado Rapids made the most of the second phase of the MLS re-entry draft.
On Thursday, the Rapids sent $75,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Toronto FC and moved up from the 22nd pick to the second in the second phase of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. With that second pick, they picked up the MLS rights to Bryan Acosta, a former Designated Player and current Honduran international from FC Dallas.
The re-entry draft is reserved for players who had their contract options declined. It was created to provide another outlet for more player movement league-wide for veteran players.
Acosta, a central midfielder, played 49 times across all competitions for FC Dallas since he joined as a DP in 2019. He has made 51 appearances for Honduras, including nine in 2021.
With the second stage of the re-entry draft, teams are able to negotiate new deals including options, while in the first stage, teams have to take on the players’ current deal and an option would be applied. With Colorado picking in the second stage, they can negotiate a new deal, but even then, it’s not a sure thing Acosta will be on the roster.
The Rapids now have to make a new, “genuine offer” to Acosta within seven days. If a deal cannot be reached, the Rapids will have the first rights of refusal for Acosta in MLS. That means if a different team wanted to sign Acosta, the Rapids would be able to match the other bidding team’s offer and sign him with priority, or, another scenario would be a team would have to trade something in return for Acosta’s rights.
U.S. Open Cup. On Wednesday, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup announced a significant re-structuring of the competition for 2022.
As a result of reaching the Concacaf Champions League, the Rapids are one of eight MLS teams who will enter in the round of 32, while 17 others will enter in the third round. The Rapids have been knocked out by USL Championship teams in each of the last two editions
Three other teams from Colorado will also compete in the Open Cup, including Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (both entering in the Second Round), and local Denver side Azteca FC, which got through the open qualifying rounds in November and will compete in the first round, which begins in March.
The first round draw will be Jan. 19, with the second round draw Jan. 26.
