Galaxy continue to revamp roster
They trade away Steres and Zubak, get draft picks in return.
The Galaxy on Sunday traded defender Daniel Steres to the Houston Dynamo and forward Ethan Zubak to Nashville SC, continuing a roster makeover that began last winter under coach Greg Vanney.
And Vanney might not be done. The Galaxy are reportedly close to finalizing another trade, this one involving national team midfielder Sebastian Lletget, with the New England Revolution the most likely landing place.
Steres, 31, who made his MLS debut in 2016, was one of the last links to coach Bruce Arena’s dynasty teams with the Galaxy. But he registered career lows for games (18), starts (13) and minutes played (1,134) under Vanney. Steres’ 140 appearances for the Galaxy overall rank 14th all time.
The center back, who is entering the option year of his contract, was guaranteed $393,750 last season, according to the union figures.
The Galaxy received Houston’s third-round pick, the 60th selection overall, in next month’s MLS SuperDraft in return for Steres. The Galaxy also will retain an unspecified portion of Steres’ salary budget charge next year.
Zubak, 23, made 17 starts the last two seasons, scoring three times.
But after the midsummer signing of Dejan Jovelic, Zubak played only 27 minutes. Signed as a homegrown player, he made his Galaxy debut in 2019. The Galaxy received Nashville’s natural first-round pick, the 21st overall, in the SuperDraft for Zubak.
Vanney brought in 18 new players last season, when the Galaxy finished 13-12-9 and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
Zubak and Steres are two of nine players whom the Galaxy have let go this month. And another could be leaving soon if the final details of the Lletget trade are worked out.
Lletget, 29, who joined the Galaxy in the spring of 2015, is the longest-serving player on the roster.
He has made a team-high 28 appearances with the national team since Gregg Berhalter took over as coach in 2019, but Vanney couldn’t find a role for him, with Lletget playing only 1,836 minutes this year, his fewest in a full season since coming to MLS from England’s West Ham United. He scored three times and picked up five assists.
Trading Lletget, who was guaranteed just more than $923,000 this year, is something the Galaxy have been exploring for weeks, with New England, where Arena now coaches, reported to be among the most interested suitors. Arena not only brought Lletget to the Galaxy, but he also gave him his first cap with the national team.
The Revolution’s roster already includes two other Galaxy castoffs in defender A.J. DeLaGarza and forward Ema Boateng.