Espindola's future with Whitecaps is unclear
The Fabian Espindola trade took a turn Saturday.
Espindola, the veteran forward acquired in a Wednesday trade with D.C. United, didn’t join the Whitecaps in Houston and has asked for some time to think things over.
“He’s got a three-month-old and another toddler and just wanted some time to collect his thoughts,” said Caps president Bobby Lenarduzzi, whose club sent an undisclosed amount of allocation money to D.C. in the deal.
“All parties agreed that he would not have to rush to Houston.”
Adding intrigue, Ives Galarcep tweeted on Saturday that Espindola could be sold to a Liga MX club.
Asked about potentially flipping Espindola to Mexico, Lenarduzzi said: “That’s not something I can comment on at this stage.”
The Caps also revealed this week that Espindola wasn’t going to take up a designated player slot in Vancouver, which is odd considering he was a DP in D.C.
Welcome to MLS, where rules and regulations are sometimes as clear as mud. Espindola is only on the books for $200,000, well below DP status, although he was apparently earning close to $600,000, according to the Washington Post.
The Caps (8-8-6) have been looking to add a forward to replace Octavio Rivero, who was sold to Colo-Colo in Chile at the start of the transfer window. The summer window closes Aug. 3.
Coach Carl Robinson started Masato Kudo up front in Saturday’s scoreless tie in Houston.
If Espindola is transferred, there’s some symmetry with 2013. That summer, the Caps surprised defender Alain Rochat with a trade to D.C. when his wife was expecting. The Rochats were furious, and he was soon transferred to Young Boys in Switzerland.