Chivas USA currently have two Designated Players, and one name may surprise you

Last week, MLS released an official list of current and former Designated Players in the league. This is pretty much uncharted territory, at least during the history of The Goat Parade. It appears the timing of the news came with the last holdout in the league, the Colorado Rapids, finally taking the plunge and signing their first DP, Gabriel Torres, a mere six years after the rule first came into effect with David Beckham.

Based on this list, Chivas USA have only had three DPs in their history. The past DP is Juan Pablo Angel, which makes sense and was something that was known about since he had been a DP with the LA Galaxy prior to his trade to Chivas during the 2011 season.

The club currently has two DPs, according to the list. The first, midfielder Oswaldo Minda, is no surprise either, since it has been common knowledge in MLS circles that his transfer fee necessitated Minda be a DP. He received a raise this season, but even so, his official salary is only disclosed as $125,000 base salary, as of the last release from the MLS Players Union. So Chivas aren't even really paying him anything close to what most (though not all) DPs in the league make. Of course, he's barely played this year, making only seven league appearances, due to a mixture of injuries and being completely out of favor with Chivas' coaches.

The second DP comes as quite a surprise, however, as forward Erick Torres is also listed by the league. Torres, on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara, is not expected (by me, anyway) to stick around longer than the remainder of this season, especially if he plays well for the Amerigoats. As far as his salary, it's listed as $129,996 (base and guaranteed) by the Players Union, which again, is far lower than most DPs in the league. Based on his age, 20, however, he's probably classified as a "young Designated Player," with his salary hit on the cap being limited, but even then, the salary hit in that category is a maximum $150,000, and he doesn't quite make it to that mark.

I could be wrong, but as far as I'm aware, Torres is the only player who is a DP and on loan at an MLS club at the moment. I thought the point of the loan is that a player is being rented, but with the Chivas/Chivas regime, it makes for a somewhat convoluted reality compared to most teams around the world.

Still, it cannot be said that Chivas USA aren't using 2/3 of their DP slots. Sure, one DP is inexplicably out of favor and the other one is on a loan, but they are officially Designated Players nonetheless.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!