Timbers Trade for Bryan Acosta

Another box can be checked off Ned Grabavoy’s summer to-do list. The Timbers have traded for Colorado CM Bryan Acosta. The price for Acosta is $150K GAM for this year and a conditional $175K GAM next year. 

I was lucky enough to be at training when this news broke, and I immediately rushed to try and confirm it. While I waited for the details of the trade, I plunged into a bit of research about our new player. 

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Acosta began his playing career in 2013 with Real Espana in his native Honduras. In 2017, he moved to CD Tenerife in Spain, where he remained for 2 and a half years. FC Dallas brought him to the USA on a DP deal in 2019, and he stayed there until 2022, when he joined Colorado. He has played 58 times for the Honduran national team.

Now we can dig into some numbers with that backstory established. Here’s Bryan Acosta’s stats from the past 365 days. 

One number here is very intriguing. 3.31 shot-creating actions per 90 is very good for a central midfielder. In a weak Colorado team, he isn’t a dynamic playmaker, but he’s in the right areas to create chances. But he’s not expected to start. So can we expect from his appearances on the pitch?

Here is a graph of Cristhian Paredes’ stats in the past 365 days. Yes, he’s been fantastic, and there’s no danger for him losing his starting spot due to Acosta’s arrival. What Acosta will provide is tenacity. Paredes and Chara have a wonderful partnership, but they’ve played a ton of minutes so far this season. This was a move that needed to be made to keep them fresh and not overwork them. Getting a player who has MLS experience to fill that role is very good. Noel Caliskan needs game time, and he’s not going to get the necessary amount with the first team this season. Acosta should be trusted to come on to the pitch as a sub and make spot starts as needed.

The financial aspect is also very interesting. I think the $150K GAM we are guaranteed to pay Colorado is a great price. However, Acosta has a club option for 2024. Our central midfield depth chart is pretty crowded, so this is an opportunity for Acosta to prove he’s worthy of an extension or even a club option. He’s currently guaranteed $731K in compensation this season, and that’s a pretty big number for a Timbers team that needs to get some large wages off the books. This trade is a pure short-term solution with very few consequences in the long term. I’m a fan of this piece of business and I’m excited for Acosta to join the team. As a depth piece, we could do a lot worse. But this was a position that needed to be filled and Ned Grabavoy did a great job of doing so.

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