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SANDY — Real Salt Lake’s offseason of transition is almost at an impasse.
Club officials met with the media Friday afternoon for the final time before departing for preseason camp in Casa Grande, Arizona next Monday.
Here are a few of the highlights:
Free agency shaping roster
General manager Craig Waibel revealed that the club has reached a verbal agreement with 13-year Major League Soccer journeyman Chad Barrett to join the club ahead of the 2017 preseason, which begins Monday.
Barrett, 31, has scored 58 goals in his 13 seasons in the league but tapered off to just two goals and an assist in 20 appearances last year after signing a free-agent contract with San Jose. The former Seattle target forward could slot into a role behind designated player Yura Movsisyan as RSL continues its move to a 4-2-3-1 formation after spending most of its first 10 seasons in a 4-4-2.
“We’re in a place where we’ve had to make some very, very difficult decisions, but decisions that have put us in an optimistic outlook moving forward,” Waibel said.
Though the deal is not official, Barrett confirmed the transaction Friday via Twitter.
Very happy to be joining @RealSaltLake in my 13th season. Eager to get the ball rolling, join the team and meet the Rio Tinto faithful!
— Chad Barrett (@CBarrett19) January 20, 2017
Barrett was part of MLS’s inaugural free-agency class under last season’s collective bargaining agreement, and Waibel said the club plans on using the still-new mechanism to add a few veteran players to its roster after replacing just two of 11 starters from a year ago.
“There are conversations to be had every year with free agents; it just depends on the club needs,” Waibel said. “This year, we wanted to bring in a couple of league-experienced players. For us this year, free agency has definitely played into the process.”
RSL’s only departures from the regular starting lineup were Javier Morales, who signed a free-agent contract with FC Dallas, and Juan Manuel Martinez, who returned to his native Argentina.
“Continuity isn’t really something we fear. Now it’s a matter of developing a couple of young players and making them goal-dangerous consistently,” Waibel said. “The dream of every team is to be able to lead the league in goals, but I think for us we need to be very, very patient with our development.
“We have new faces … and we need to allow the time for that to settle in.”
The league’s nascent free-agency policy provides another way for a club like RSL to settle young talent like Jordan Allen with veterans like Barrett.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is that we have a balance on the roster, where we have depth. If we get every single piece right, it makes the job a lot easier. We believe we have the right pieces; now it’s a matter of finding the right people to work together.”
“One of the guarantees in sports is there will be change every year,” Waibel added. “But I think we are in a better spot now than we’ve been in quite some time in terms of optimism.”
RSL bringing back David Horst
Waibel also confirmed the club has initiated a verbal agreement to bring back defender David Horst. The 31-year-old defender who most recently played at Houston was the 14th pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by Salt Lake but played in just three matches before flourishing in a trade with Portland in 2011.
The past three seasons with the Dynamo, Horst accumulated four goals and three assists while starting 83 of 89 games.
Ongoing discussions
Waibel also re-confirmed that the club is in continued negotiations with former U.S. international star Landon Donovan — though he again stressed the deal is not done.
“There are so many details that go into a contract,” Waibel said. “Of course, he wants to play. We wouldn’t be in a world of Landon being signed, unsigned and all those things if Landon didn’t want to play soccer.”
Former RSL midfielder Luis Silva is also in talks to rejoin the club after spending last season with Tigres in Mexico’s Liga MX.
“We’re still very interested in bringing him here,” Waibel said. “I believe we’re going to be able to bring him in. We’ve been working with Tigres; it’s been a longer endeavor than any of us thought it would be.
“I’m very optimistic, and I believe Luis will be here.”
Preseason eve
With the new additions, RSL’s roster expanded to 27 players — though Waibel said even more additions could be forthcoming during the preseason. The team will open camp Monday in Casa Grande, Arizona, before spells in Tucson, Portland and Irvine, California.
RSL kicks off the season at home March 4 against Toronto FC.
“I think we’re pretty close; I don’t think we’re too far off of our full roster,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar admitted. “We could be adding a lot of players who know the league, and that’s a positive.
“We want to get Albert (Rusnak) in as quick as possible to adapt to the way we play and the league. It’s a good preseason because we play all MLS teams. Chad Barrett and David Horst, and if we get the Luis Silva deal done, they already know the league. A lot of them know our team. We should be pretty good.”
