Rather than treading into the uncertain waters of free agency D.C. United has opted to go with a known quantity. On Tuesday the club announced that it had come to an agreement with forward Alvaro Saborio on a one year contract extension.
Saborio, 33, came to D.C. United midway through the 2015 season in a trade with Real Salt Lake. He would go on to score to four goals in 15 appearances with United including a pivotal goal at home against New York City F.C. in October.
He came to the team after having played his entire MLS career with RSL. The Costa Rican international currently ranks eighth all-time among active MLS players (69). Furthermore he is RSL’s all-time leader in goals scored (63), game-winning goals (21), and average goals per 90 minutes (.52). He featured for Costa Rica tonight in their World Cup qualifier against Haiti, playing 61 minutes.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to retain Sabo for the 2016 season,” D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper said. “He made an immediate impact when he joined us this summer and scored important goals down the stretch. We look forward to his continued contributions.”
Now the interesting thing about this deal is money. or the lack of mention of it in the press release. Typically there will be something to the effect of As per league policy exact terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed which is all well in good. But there was no mention of Saborio being a Designated Player something that teams usually tout. With the league according to SI’s Grant Wahl looking at adding more Targeted Allocation Money United may have been able to buy down his contract in order to secure additional DP money.
This move is also interesting because it clears up some of the questions of D.C.’s forward situation. With Chris Rolfe already having signed an extension and with Fabian Espindola also signed to a long-term deal it essentially means that the club is done looking for forwards. That could spell an end to the Chris Pontius era at D.C.
United could also opt to keep Pontius given the uncertainty with Saborio. Although he did come into the team midway through the season Saborio never really seemed to find his rhythm in Olsen’s system. United was hoping that Saborio and Espindola’s partnership from RSL could be rekindled in D.C. But aside from a few fleeting opportunities the two were often on the same page with Saborio not making the correct runs to box and Espindola often over hitting his passes.
But Saborio is one of the best goal-scorers in the league and should provide a scoring spark for D.C. when asked to. The question for United is if they can find a young striker to back-up Saborio and Espindola.
