TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Trade
The Vancouver Whitecaps announced on Friday the trade that will send center back Tim Parker to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for midfielder Felipe and Targeted Allocation Money.
Metro New York's Kristian Dyer reported on Friday afternoon that a deal had been finalized, which a source independently confirmed to MLSsoccer.com. The Red Bulls will send $500,000 in allocation money to Vancouver – $225,000 in 2018 and $275,000 in 2019 – as part of the deal, along with an international roster spot in 2018.
Parker requested a trade earlier this offseason, sources told MLSsoccer.com, as he seeks a raise in the final year of his contract. According to one source, Parker asked Vancouver for a deal that would pay him a minimum of $1.8 million over three years. That type of contract would put him in the neighborhood of deals for American center backs Matt Hedges and Steve Birnbaum. Vancouver offered him a contract that would pay him $1.4 million over three years, at which point Parker requested to be traded.
The 25-year-old Parker made just $99,600 last season in Vancouver and is out of contract at the end of the season. The Red Bulls have not yet come to terms on a new contract with Parker as part of the trade.
“Tim is the type of defender we look for,” said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch in a release. “His soccer knowledge, athleticism, and one-on-one defending ability are qualities that fit with what we ask of our center backs. I know he is glad to be coming home to New York, and we think he will thrive in our style of play.”
Parker will look to immediately slot into the starting lineup next to Aaron Long, filling a hole that has given New York problems over the past few seasons. The Red Bulls also have Aurélien Collin, Fidel Escobar, Tommy Redding and Michael Murillo as depth on the roster.
Vancouver received $150,000 in TAM from Chicago in exchange for Tony Tchani on Thursday in a move that cleared the way for Felipe to join the roster. Felipe will join Efrain Juarez, Aly Ghazal, Russell Teibert and new signing Jordon Mutch in Vancouver’s central midfield corps.
The TAM going back to Vancouver will give the Whitecaps some financial flexibility to ease the cap hit of Felipe, who signed a new contract with the Red Bulls last summer. Details of that new deal were not disclosed, but a source said Felipe is set to average a salary of just under $450,000 over the next two seasons.
"Felipe has consistently proven to be one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Major League Soccer," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson in a release. "He's fiercely competitive, very comfortable on the ball, and creative going forward. We firmly believe he's someone that will make the players around him better and we're delighted to add him to our group in the prime of his career.
"As always, this decision was made in the best interest of our club in the short, medium, and long term,” Robinson added. “We are thankful to Tim for his contributions over the last three seasons and wish him well moving forward.”
