Osorno One Step Closer To The Rapids

A bit ago I mentioned the Colorado Rapids were in the hunt for ex-Mexican International Daniel Osorno. He was seen at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on the 4th of July. On July 12th VP Jeff Plush confirmed that the team was in talks to sign him.

Before signing Osorno the Rapids needed to clear up an SI slot. They've done that by releasing Panamanian Roberto "El Bombardero" Brown yesterday. Brown's spot on the team was in question once the Rapids were able to bring in Colorado-native Conor Casey who plays a similar role as El Bombardero up top. And with Osorno's paperwork about to go through, it was time to release Roberto. Brown came to the Rapids after having played with Tacuarembó FC in the Uruguayan First Division.

Just before this the Rapids release defender Chris Wingert. Real Salt Lake traded a first round pick in the 2008 supplemental draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2009 supplemental draft for his rights. That's not a surprising move for a team looking to add some defensive depth. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see Torres put in another poor performance and find himself on the bench with Wingert starting alongside Pope.

Reminder : As FC Rocky points out, there is still no official word from the Rapids on the status of Osorno. Keep in mind that as much as this may look and sound like a done deal, until it's done it's not done. There are plenty of examples of situations like this in the past where at the last minute the team or the player walks away from another player or another team (or for nothing other than just walking away).