Chivas USA Trade for Revs' Joseph

Chivas USA have announced that they have traded for veteran midfielder Shalrie Joseph. The Grenadian international has spent his entire pro career with the New England Revolution, and at his peak was an MVP-caliber player in MLS. He's currently 34, but given Chivas' recent ability to get production out of MLS veterans in their 30s like Juan Pablo Angel and Danny Califf, it seems like they are really trying to make a push to win this season and make the playoffs.

Going the other way to the Revs is midfielder Blair Gavin, a 2013 2nd round MLS SuperDraft pick, and allocation money. Although I hoped Gavin would find a way to get on track, he seems to have hit his ceiling with the Goats and I think moving him was a good move. Best of luck to Blair in New England.

After being a fixture in the New England lineup this season through mid-June, Joseph has been coming off the bench more than he's been starting. As a respected veteran who was working with a first-year head coach and former teammate in Jay Heaps, there may (or may not) have been friction between the pair. We will likely get a better sense of the story in the coming days.

For Chivas, Joseph's arrival makes sense positionally on a couple of fronts. He has experience playing an offensive role through the central midfield, although he hasn't been the playmaker for a few seasons. Instead, he has moved back to become a very good defensive midfielder, which will likely be his primary position. He also has experience at center back, and considering Chivas' options in depth are pretty thin at center back, having a player like Joseph with MLS experience at the position should alleviate some issues with depth.

We'll have more coverage on the Gavin for Joseph trade later.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!