The MLR Trade and Signing Deadline is just a day away. Today’s action is unlikely to dramatically impact any moves.
Entering this weekend, teams seemed focused on shoring up the edges and complying with salary cap rules. Only the Jackals seemed focused on bringing in new players, and that’s driven by a need to fulfill fixtures. With only NOLA, Utah, and Old Glory firmly focused on the future, there’s not a large market from which to buy. Just look at each side:
- NOLA appears focused on minor moves. Sending 2022 cap space to LA was more about having a perishable asset that was about to expire. Picking up a pair of draft picks and a prospect in Sam Klimkowski were good, but not dramatic, business.
- Old Glory is prioritizing the future under Nate Osborne. Osborne wants the permanent job and should be the clear front runner. However, his interim tag complicates things. No franchise should risk the future to bolster the position of an interim coach, and Osborne has no incentive to sell any talent that could help him secure the job.
- Utah is the most interesting. Their shock win over ATL should have other teams at least thinking about loans for a few Warriors. (Lance Williams in particular would be a fantastic get.) However, star talent tends to carry higher bills. A deal for both the player and necessary cap space is unlikely to be a net gain at this point.
From there, teams are nearly set. Austin, LA, New England, New York, and ATL should all be open to picking up talent, but only at the best price. Nothing appears to fill that bill.
Seattle could use a piece in the back line, but one if a team is nearly giving it away.
San Diego and Houston’s duel this afternoon will knock one side back in the playoff hunt, but neither side would be far enough of the pace to warrant switching to a sell off.
Toronto is the only potential team to watch. The loss to New York almost certainly leaves them outside the playoffs at the end of the year. However, with injuries mounting, they could join Dallas in looking for a few fringe players to finish the year.
There could still be a few fringe moves by teams. And side with remaining cap space should try to get something off value for it, but we’re unlikely to see anything bigger than that before tomorrow.
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