Sweeney: Who has won the December 2018 3-way deal between the Revolution, Colorado, and Sporting KC?

On December 18 last year, the Revolution set off a bombshell of a three-way trade during the dinner hour. It was a trade that looked to secure a position of dire need in the New England backline, and moved a fan favorite — the second fan favorite, we should add, in the course of eight months — away from Foxborough.

Now, eight-plus months have passed, with six weeks remaining in Major League Soccer’s regular season. And we ask the big question: which club has won that particular trade? It's not the answer you may expect.

Let’s break it down.

THE TRADE

New England sent Kelyn Rowe to Colorado Rapids in exchange for Edgar Castillo, who had been on loan to the suburban Denver side from Liga MX club Monterrey last year. The Rapids re-signed him earlier in the afternoon and subsequently shipped him to Foxborough in exchange for Rowe.

In the same move, Colorado swapped Rowe and $300,000 in allocation money to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for Diego Rubio.

OUR ORIGINAL ANALYSIS

While you can feel free to go back through the archives and read what I wrote back in December (or, you know, click the link), I can give you the Cliff’s Notes version right now. The trade from New England’s perspective sent away an unhappy player — Rowe had sarcastically said on Oct. 28 that he showed he can play multiple positions three years in a row — and brought in a player who filled a need. Castillo is an attacking-minded player, which is what now-former coach Brad Friedel wanted out of his outside backs. We had noted that Rowe had fallen down the depth chart last season, passed over in certain substitute roles for players who had less professional experience.

We also briefly examined Rowe then going to SKC, where he would play under longtime bench boss Peter Vermes and work again with Krisztian Nemeth, who the Revs had sent to the heartland back in August 2018.

On the other hand, we barely addressed Rubio’s impact on the whole thing, as it didn’t necessarily affect the Revolution.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE

For Rowe, it has been a rather tumultuous 2019.

Once excited about the move away from New England, Rowe only played in 14 matches for SKC, starting seven of them. He had two assists, with no goals on 20 shots, four of which were on-target. He spent some time with SKC’s USL affiliate, Swope Park Rangers, where he played in two matches and scored three goals. At the recent Secondary Transfer Window deadline, Rowe found himself traded for the second time in eight months, this time to Real Salt Lake. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but Rowe has not featured in an RSL match, yet he did make the bench in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Colorado.

For Castillo, one can say the move has not been entirely beneficial.

If Castillo was signed for the way he gets involved in the Revolution’s attack, then yes, we can say the trade was worth it; some people have hinted that he plays like a wing back instead of as a defender, and that’s fair. He has five assists to his credit in 2019, including a couple of passes to Gustavo Bou during this recent run that have found the back of the net. Yet if you’re playing in the backline, there’s an expectation that you will, you know, play defense. A lot of Revolution supporters have noticed Castillo’s habit of ball-watching, and many a team have focused their attacks on Castillo’s side. So far, Castillo has played in 20 of New England’s 27 games; he did not make the squad this past weekend.

The other piece of this, Rubio… one can say he has, in a way, flourished a mile high.

Out of Colorado’s 27 matches, Rubio has played in 21, and started 20. He has a career-high nine goals to go along with three assists, and he's been seemingly unstoppable for stretches. His upside is still rather unlimited, and who knows what he will accomplish under new coach Robin Fraser, hired Sunday.

POSITIONING IN THE TABLE

One way to gauge who has won the trade, so to speak, is how the teams in question have performed in 2019 ... and for the three teams involved, a good portion of the season have seen them sit below the playoff line. While Rowe’s new team, Real Salt Lake, sits second in the West, Rowe has not had a hand in the team’s positioning.

To Sporting Kansas City’s credit, the Wizards had two separate stints in sixth place, but have since been below the playoff line since April. One can point to their CONCACAF Champions League stay, as well as assorted injuries, as hampering the club’s efforts in 2019. Following this weekend’s action, SKC sits ninth in the West with 34 points through 27 games, but it should be noted that two teams near them in the standings — Portland and Houston — have a match in hand on them. There is no guarantee that SKC will make the playoffs.

For Colorado Rapids, sure, Rubio’s nine goals have been somewhat of a help for a team that exits the weekend have scored 43 this season. But overall, Colorado has been below the playoff line the entire season, and sit 11th out of 12 teams in the West after 27 matches played. And to be fair, the Rapids are, as of Sunday, on their third coach of 2019.

For New England, its turnaround has been well-documented. Cellar dwellers for most of the first two-plus months of 2019, the Revolution have gone on a meteoric rise, staying unbeaten in 14 of its last 15 in the league. Currently, New England sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with 38 points after 27 matches. Like Colorado, New England has also had three coaches in 2019.

CALCULATIONS

Rowe: 14 games played, 7 started; 2 assists; spent time in USL, transferred to RSL;
Castillo: 20 games played, 20 started; 5 assists; defending is suspect, still on first team;
Rubio: 21 games played, 20 started; 9 goals, 2 assists; hasn’t necessarily helped the team, still on first team

SKC: Is $300,000 in allocation money richer, transferred Rowe to RSL; gained an international slot for 2019 (currently unused), plus will receive $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money from RSL split over 2019-20 seasons.

THE VERDICT

Honestly? It looks like a push at this point in time. That could change down the road, but for the purposes of this discussion, there is no clear-cut winner.

Sure, the Revolution are on its way to breaking its playoff-less skid of three seasons (FiveThirtyEight has the Revs at a 68 percent chance of making the postseason following Saturday's 2-1 win over Chicago) — but Castillo’s defensive lapses have cost the Revolution a bushel basket full of points. Rubio’s scoring goals, sure, but Colorado can’t get out of its own way. And Rowe is no longer on SKC, is drawing closer to Seattle, his long-rumored preferred destination, but cannot sniff the pitch save in training for the second straight season — but SKC has gained $375,000 in allocation money which, if used wisely, can help the club rebound … albeit in 2020.

Ranking the winners, player-wise and team-wise:

Players

1a. Diego Rubio (goal-scoring)
1b. Kelyn Rowe (now closer to Seattle)
2. Edgar Castillo

Teams

1a. New England (due to playoff potential)
1b. Sporting Kansas City (due to the allocation money factors)
2. Colorado