The MLS trade market has dimmed in recent weeks, as the offseason slows down and preseason training camps start again. Things will rev up soon, with imminent logjams in LA and Atlanta and a handful of starting players possibly on the market. 

Blockbuster intra-league deals happen with more frequency as teams become increasingly willing (and able) to use large sums of allocation money. 

In this three-part series, we’ll take a closer look at three major difference-makers on the market, and what potential trades could look like.

Joao Plata, Real Salt Lake

Plata’s tendency to torch opponents for short stretches and then plateau for most of the season is well-documented. He’s one of the streakiest players in the league. It’s as though he feels he has to have one of his dominant stretches to prove his talent, but after he goes off for a few games, he can relax upon the public’s knowledge that he has a rarely-seen top gear in him. 

That inconsistency rubs off on RSL’s young attackers. Jefferson Savarino, the 22-year-old Venezuelan who was ranked in the top five of MLSsoccer.com’s 22 Under 22 list last October, managed just two goals and two assists in his first 1,500 minutes of 2018. Over his last 1,357 minutes, he had five goals and nine assists. Albert Rusnak, RSL’s centerpiece, picked up most of his 10 goals and seven assists in little stretches of three or so games. 

Generating consistency out of Plata’s wing position would prop up Savarino and Rusnak, with more opportunities on the ball and perhaps a more effective scorer who can finish the chances they create. A younger homegrown talent (like Sebastian Saucedo, for example) could fill the void on a team that loves to trust its young players. Real have a DP slot open as well.

Plata would likely garner a haul between $750,000 and $1 million in allocation money, judging from recent deals for similar players. Orlando flipped Justin Meram back to Columbus this summer for a discounted price of $750,000 of Targeted Allocation Money, due to Meram’s disastrous run of form and OCSC’s desperate position. 

LAFC traded $800,000 of allocation money (of which $500,000 was the more valuable GAM) plus a potential $200,000 in incentives to Minnesota for Christian Ramirez, a pure striker with lesser per-90 production than Plata. Fanendo Adi went for nearly $1 million in July despite his poor form and benching in Portland. 

Real should start their asking price at $1 million or above, should they decide to deal their enigmatic winger. That might be a steep price, but Plata is 26, not a DP and doesn’t take an international slot. Someone will likely be willing to shell out, or offer other assets. Maybe one of FC Cincinnati’s numerous defensive midfielders becomes available at some point.

Plata is a good player, bordering on elite when on his game. He can fill a void for somebody.

Harrison Hamm is a sportswriter who covers American soccer and MLS for FloFC. He also covers sports for FanSided and The Comeback, and has freelanced for the Washington Post.