Nothing to See Here? MLS Trade Deadline Passes

All quiet on the Chivatown front today. Normally, that wouldn't mean much on a Thursday, but in light of the fact that the MLS trade deadline passed at 2 pm PST, it looks like no final moves will be coming this season for Chivas USA. According to the rules of the deadline, rosters are frozen until the end of MLS Cup in late November, so teams are supposed to stick with the guys they have on the active roster. This includes players who were on the disabled list. If injured players may return before the end of the season (or postseason for eligible teams) they need to be back on the active roster by the deadline. This is not really significant for Chivas except perhaps in the case of Paulo Nagamura, who is not expected to return this season following surgery on a broken foot.

What about the fate of Chivas' top slot in the league's allocation order? Continued after the jump.

The status of the allocation order is, like many things in MLS, a bit muddy at this point. The expectation is that with the deadline passing, the slot has been wasted as Chivas never used it to select a U.S. International or to trade it for money, draft picks, or other players. However, just to continue what will likely be a false hope just a little bit longer, Adam Serrano reported on twitter at the deadline that Coach Robin Fraser has indicated that Chivas have the slot until MLS Cup. Perhaps this is true, and there is some eligible unsigned U.S. international out there who could possibly be picked up. The only name that springs to mind is forward Eddie Johnson, who you will remember balked at signing with MLS after the league reported he had signed. I suppose there could be ongoing negotiations, but I can't think of any other guys who fit all of these qualifications that Chivas might possibly sign. Can you?

The other explanation for Fraser's statement is semantic. Since nobody else has the top slot in the allocation order yet, Chivas must continue to have it, whether or not they can actually use it. I don't know, that could be it.

Also, huge caveat to finish this off, MLS and Chivas USA are notoriously late at announcing personnel moves. Remember when the world knew Juan Pablo Angel was coming to Chivas, and he told everybody, and the team still waited another day to officially confirm it? That is entirely possible here. Even if no news has passed at the deadline, moves may be announced in the coming hours and days. If anything comes up, you'll find updates on this site.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!