COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – As the Colorado Rapids continue to troll the waiver wire for help along their struggling back four, they eliminated one potential option earlier this week.
Brett Evans (above), a 30-year-old former South African international who was on trial with the Rapids in an attempt to strengthen the backline, left the team early last week.
“For us, we continue to look for players like that to bring in and see how they fit and the potential of acclimating,” Rapids technical director Paul Bravo told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “It’s always tough in the middle of the season. We’re active in our scouting right now, but the likelihood is we’re comfortable with the group that we have.
“And we’re getting guys back who are healthy. And yes, the defensive side of things needs to get a little bit better, but we just need to play better and we need to get healthy and get continuity and that solves a lot of our issues.”
The Rapids have allowed two goals in four of their past five league contests, including a defensive meltdown last Wednesday against San Jose, when Colorado allowed two goals in the match’s final 10 minutes to lose 2-1. With speedy center back Marvell Wynne (above) just returning from a hamstring strain, the Rapids’ defensive needs aren’t as pressing as they were a few weeks ago.
As for US national team captain Carlos Bocanegra, who’s been linked with a move back to MLS, Bravo said the Rapids are too far back in the allocation order to seriously consider a move for the Rangers center back. Colorado are currently 18th in the allocation order after using their pick earlier this year on Kamani Hill.
“We’re always looking to find ways to make ourselves better. There’s a process with any of these players … it’s a process,” Bravo said. “And we’re far enough away from the reality of having a player like [Bocanegra] we can’t even think about it. We continue to hunt and look for ways to make ourselves better, but right now I would say, given the process that the league has in place, I don’t see that as an option for us right now.”
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
