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McCarthy's Musings: Hartman, Robinson Moves Reveal Difficult Decisions Prompted By MLS Veterans
Prominent MLS veterans Kevin Hartman and Carl Robinson are en route to new addresses for 2010 even though both players could certainly fill a role with their old team. Kyle McCarthy explains why teams struggle to cope with established veteran players in McCarthy's Musings.
Mar 10, 2010 4:24:00 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
As established MLS veterans age, clubs struggle to figure how to reconcile the player's changing place within the team structure with his corresponding value on the salary budget.
Consider two transactions from this week as the most recent examples in the long-held pattern.
In the first of the two featured moves, Kansas City finally reached a deal to send out-of-contract goalkeeper Kevin Hartman elsewhere and shipped the 35-year-old to FC Dallas in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2012. Hartman told MLSnet.com on Tuesday that he signed a new multi-year deal with MLS that included a pay cut for 2010.
The deal represented significant value for a player Kansas City didn't want to keep and, more importantly, didn't want to sign for multiple years. By swapping Hartman for Danish goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, the Wizards ensured they wouldn't have to commit to a multi-year deal with two or more guaranteed years for Hartman (a reasonable demand given Hartman's stature and his above-expectations performance in 2009, but not a proposal the Wizards were particularly likely to entertain) and would have the flexibility to search elsewhere if Nielsen didn't perform to expectations during his one-year deal at a similar salary number. While Kansas City's move to dump Hartman doesn't rank particularly high on the sentimentality meter given his contributions to the cause over the past three seasons, it does give the Wizards more options heading into the future.
FC Dallas, on the other hand, sacrificed some of its financial flexibility to acquire a proven player that may not earn a starting berth this season. FCD coach Schellas Hyndman now possesses two potential number ones with Hartman and incumbent goalkeeper Dario Sala both in the fold. Two practical problems arise with carrying both players: neither goalkeeper likely features in a list of the top seven or eight goalkeepers in the league and one of them will end up as an overpriced backup option if both players remain on the roster. Trading for Hartman heaps significant pressure on Hyndman to either cut Sala loose or accommodate his comparative largesse at goalkeeper – former number two Ray Burse made $34,650 in base compensation last season, according to MLS Players Union documents, and Hartman's taking home at least two to three times that amount even with a healthy pay cut from last year's $165,000 salary – by trimming his expenditures in other areas.
In contrast to FC Dallas' decision to carry veteran cover at a comparatively significant price, Toronto FC opted to release veteran midfielder Carl Robinson over the weekend rather than retain him for a fourth season. The former Welsh international then joined long-standing admirers New York on trial this week in Fort Lauderdale.
Robinson's departure marks yet another in a rather lengthy list of salary budget busting moves by TFC. On the surface, Robinson's departure makes considerable sense. The Reds possess plenty of cover in central midfield – Julian de Guzman will occupy one spot, while Sam Cronin can slot inside to his natural defensive midfield role to fill the other vacancy – and TFC simply can't carry Robinson's substantial guaranteed salary ($300,000 base, according to the Union) in a reserve role with de Guzman and Dwayne De Rosario on the books already.
Dig a little deeper and the negative ramifications of the move hit home. Although Robinson will play elsewhere in 2010, a significant portion of his salary will count against the Reds' salary budget because teams can't just dump players with guaranteed deals without assuming a corresponding budget charge. The same principle that keeps Nick Garcia – currently in the second year of a two-year guarantee after San Jose rather impulsively granted him a new deal at $190,000 in base compensation per season after a solid 2008 campaign and then assumed a considerable portion of that salary to ship him to TFC last June – on the TFC roster will see the Reds pay a hefty price for Robinson to play for a competitor in 2010 and hope they can use the meager funds freed by his departure to sign an impact player.
The salary arrangement makes Robinson a reasonably-priced addition for New York. While Robinson probably doesn't represent a wise investment at the face value of his contract, he makes sense in the $100k-150k pay bracket given his ability, his experience and his willingness to play in central defense if asked. Considering New York's current assortment of options in both spots, Robinson could certainly make an impact if he can maintain possession consistently and show his fitness during his trial stint.
Veterans such as Hartman and Robinson present difficult cases for MLS clubs. Many accomplished MLS players warrant guaranteed, multi-year contracts when they are offered and signed, yet these same deals – which, in the case of many foreign players, lay the foundation for the player's arrival in the first place – can transform into salary budget millstones once a player's performance or utility falls beneath his salary level. Dumping those salaries turns into an exercise in mitigation as clubs must find a way to extract a modest return for a player worth considerably more on the field and among his teammates than on the salary budget.
Striking the right balance between change and consistency remains the overarching goal as teams weigh the tangible effects on the field and the intangible effects in the locker room. As both of these moves indicate, finding the perfect mix remains elusive for most MLS clubs.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
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