Teal Bunbury could be tradable for the Revolution. Photo/Kari Heistad
Preseason and the MLS regular season are fast approaching, though the New England Revolution roster is still far from complete.
The Revs have been decidedly quiet this off-season with some exceptions, most notably re-signing midfielder Daigo Kobayashi and choosing not to extend contract options on a handful of 2016 team members.
Make no mistake: the club will acquire new talent before the March 4 season kick-off against the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City. Aside from the Superdraft on January 13, the Revs coaching staff has also been scouting potential additions around the globe.
That said, the current roster—despite containing just 19 contracted players—has a fair amount of trade bait. If the Revs wanted to acquire more talent within the league, they could very easily do it by shipping off some of their pork.
Here’s a look at two realistic scenarios in which the club could orchestrate a trade:
Lose a goalkeeper
None of the four keepers—especially Cody Cropper, Bobby Shuttleworth, and Brad Knighton—will stay on this team long term as a third-stringer. Each of these players is exceptionally tradable.
Cropper, 23, is young and has tremendous upside. He’s got a decent amount of European experience despite his youth and nicely showed off his skill in last year’s season finale against Montreal, which was his lone start of the 2016 season. Shuttleworth is a league veteran and managed to work his way up to a starter since joining the Revs in 2009. That he’s played in an MLS Cup and is capable of being a team’s starter through the regular season and the playoffs makes him even more valuable. Knighton, meanwhile, is also a league veteran and a solid back-up option.
Matt Turner had his option picked up this year, but is untested in competitive league matches.
The Revs need to decide who their starter is before they engage in any kind of trade talk. And make no mistake: there’s plenty of need for a quality goalkeeper in the league. Look no further than Columbus, Orlando, Portland, Vancouver, and Minnesota.
Worth noting is that Minnesota, who do not currently have a goalkeeper on their roster, have the first pick in the Superdraft. The Revs have reportedly been interested in Miles Robinson, who is widely regarded as the best defender available.
Trade Teal Bunbury
Teal Bunbury has a significant amount of league experience, but is coming off a down year in which he recorded just two goals and two assists in 27 appearances.
On the one hand, the Revolution lack depth among players capable of playing on the wing. But coach Jay Heaps switched tactics at the end of the season and began using the 4-4-2-diamond formation, which took the focus away from the flanks and more on transitions from central midfield to the attacking third.
Under that system, Bunbury could be deemed less important, thus making him worthy of trading. Bunbury could make sense on a team that either needs depth at winger or is in the middle of a rebuild, say Chicago or San Jose. But Bunbury could fit in well with either one of the expansion teams as well.
If you want to reach Julian, email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
