{"id":43887,"date":"2022-07-10T20:25:29","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T00:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=43887"},"modified":"2022-07-11T03:59:06","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T07:59:06","slug":"mark-anthony-kaye-trade-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/07\/10\/mark-anthony-kaye-trade-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing\u00a0the Mark-Anthony Kaye Trade to Toronto FC from all sides\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>TORONTO, ON<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Friday night, Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids announced a blockbuster trade for Canadian international midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. TFC gave up $1.025 million in GAM, promising teenager Ralph Priso, an international roster slot, and a first round draft pick for Kaye. As a result, Mark-Anthony Kaye joins the midfield with familiar CanMNT player Jonathan Osorio, and well-known TFC captain, Michael Bradley.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Analyzing\u00a0the Mark-Anthony Kaye Trade to Toronto FC from all sides<\/h2>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This article was co-written by Toronto FC beat writer Raheem Bashir and Colorado Rapids beat writer Matt Pollard.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">OFFICIAL: We&#8217;ve acquired midfielder Ralph Priso, $1.025 Million in GAM, 2023 International Slot, and 2023 SuperDraft Pick from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TorontoFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TorontoFC<\/a> in exchange for Mark-Anthony Kaye.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcdd: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SmM6mCvWU0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/SmM6mCvWU0<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wSXnKBLZ5E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wSXnKBLZ5E<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ColoradoRapids\/status\/1545539821614952448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<b>The Toronto FC Perspective:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, Toronto FC spends a lot of money to try to get Designated Players. Fans in MLS will also know Toronto and particularly, their matches against CF Montreal and the Seattle Sounders FC. They would also be wondering what is happened to TFC right now after having an abysmal season last year. This year is about the growth of young Canadian MLS players, something TFC put alot of money into.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What MLS fans outside of Canada may not know though is the money spent on the academy and youth teams. TFC won the U-15 championship in 2019 over Los Angeles FC. This is what TFC president Bill Manning said about that topic to Gareth Wheeler according to Toronto FC:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TvzrXVpPf7I\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe&#8217;ve really amplified the academy when we joined the US Soccer Development Academy.\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">78\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TFCLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TFCLive<\/a> takes the lead! What a strike by Ralph Priso, who puts the ball into the bottom left corner! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TorontoFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TorontoFC<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TORvATL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TORvATL<\/a> | 2-1 | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MLS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MLS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PocTXau6cF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/PocTXau6cF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LastWordSC\/status\/1540871324532412416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Priso is a 19-year-old teenager, who plays the midfield position for Toronto FC. He is a homegrown player, having played with Toronto FC III and Toronto FC II, before making it to the big leagues in MLS. This is what Priso said about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/06\/26\/toronto-fc-canadians\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scoring the game-winning goal against Atlanta United FC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> according to the Canadian Press:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI can\u2019t speak for everybody, but personally \u2026 I feel like I play my best games at BMO,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/priso-s-late-goal-lifts-toronto-fc-over-atlanta-2-1-1.1817742\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Priso said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cI don\u2019t know but I just play better when we play here. It\u2019s just something that you can\u2019t explain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This opinion is proven by statistics. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whoscored.com\/Players\/403651\/Show\/Ralph-Priso-Mbongue\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who Scored<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Priso\u2019s match rating at home is 6.52, while his road rating is 5.83. Also, two of Priso\u2019s best three games came within the last three games (source from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whoscored.com\/Players\/403651\/MatchStatistics\/Ralph-Priso-Mbongue\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who Scored<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) He has however, taken a step back from last year, where his match rating was 6.40 compared to 6.25 this year. He has also been included in big games including playing 62 minutes against CF Montreal in a game where <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/06\/23\/cf-montreal-is-eliminated\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toronto dominated most of the game in the Canadian Championship and won 4-0<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing Colorado needs to do is make sure Priso gets comfortable in Colorado. He is only 19-years-old and has played his entire career in his hometown in Toronto. More importantly, making him play well in Commerce City, Colorado will do wonders to the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, of the two players, Mark-Anthony Kaye is right now the best player. This is what TFC president Bill Manning said about Kaye according to Luke Wileman of TSN:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBig acquisition obviously with Mark-Anthony Kaye, a guy in his prime of his career, full Canadian international, from here, from Toronto. Look, we think he\u2019ll have a massive impact on our midfield, an ability to prevent the ball out of the net. A true pro.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also means that TFC might try to expediate the rebuilding process with this trade. Yes, they lost Alejandro Pozuelo, but they are also getting Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito, and there are rumours that they will also get Federico Bernardeschi (according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelSingh94\/status\/1544400527689138177\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Singh of MLS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). They also need some help in the midfield, which at times have given up too many turnovers.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;(We) believe he can develop into a core piece of our team\u2019s midfield with his skillset&#8221; &#8211; P\u00e1draig Smith, General Manager<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the squad, Ralph! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jID3kD5qQU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/jID3kD5qQU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ColoradoRapids\/status\/1545543764114120704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saying that, this trade would not have happened if Colorado was not interested in Priso, which is a credit to Priso and the organization itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Colorado Rapids Perspective:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year has gone sideways for the Rapids. Last season\u2019s water tight defense has regressed. Injuries have eliminated their depth and center back and out wide. Gyasi Zardes has underwhelmed as their big attacking addition in the primary transfer window. Changes were needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c[This trade] gets us various different assets that we believe we can use to make the roster better in both the short and long term,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rapids VP and General Manager <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">P\u00e1draig Smith told Last Word.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaye is not the problem. But with just three goals and one assist on the year, he\u2019s underproduced as the central attacking midfielder for Robin Fraser. He has not had much support around him but still has regressed from 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen the offer came in from Toronto, we were willing to explore it. It was going to have to be a record breaking deal. It was going to have to get to that overall $2 million mark from a valuation perspective,\u201d Smith added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Colorado was going to shake things up, they needed the flexibility to do so. If they were going to part ways with a player of Kaye\u2019s calibre, it needed to be for top dollar. They spent just over $1million in total assets <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/07\/31\/mark-anthony-kaye-trade-analysis\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a year ago to get him from LAFC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Now that\u2019s easily doubled. Depending on the valuation for Priso and how high that draft pick is, the total haul could equal $2.5 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">$1 mill GAM + Priso valued at $1 mill + Int slot (~200k) + draft pick =<\/p>\n<p>Over $2.5 million in assets. Hard to see <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Rapids96?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Rapids96<\/a> getting a better offer for Kaye. If they do something with the Int slot, this is the start of a mid-year pivot. If they don&#8217;t, it&#8217;s the start of a rebuild. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BcqYfbW6MG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/BcqYfbW6MG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Matt Pollard (@LWOSMattPollard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LWOSMattPollard\/status\/1545523090347634689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They didn\u2019t want to sell Kaye. He didn\u2019t want out. But every player has a price and when a buyer meets and exceeds that, it\u2019s hard to say no. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smith made it clear Kaye was professional through the entire process. He would have been happy to stay in Colorado, but if he was going to be traded, he, his family, and agent wanted it to be to Toronto.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colorado still sees value in the SuperDraft. If Toronto stays where they are in the table, though unlikely, they could get a player ready to contribute in MLS immediately. The int slot gives them options in January.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The club is very familiar with Priso and believe he could contribute this year and become great in the future. Head Coach Robin Fraser was an assistant coach for the first team the first three years Priso was in the academy. Colorado gave a list of three players they were interested in from Toronto, specifying that the deal must include Priso.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe needed to be a part of this trade. I\u2019ve watched Priso for a number of years. The fact that we&#8217;ve got Robin here obviously makes that even better from a you know, from a Toronto perspective. We know their young lads very well. I\u2019ve watched more of Toronto than any other team. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ralph is one of the most talented, young midfielders in MLS<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d said Smith.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ralph Priso is one of the best young midfielders in the league. He\u2019s had a tough go this year, was a little bit too hard on himself at times, but a change of scenery should do him wonders. He\u2019s a kid that really has his head on his shoulders &amp; was always a pleasure to speak with<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Singh (@MichaelSingh94) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelSingh94\/status\/1545550729200517142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of this season, the war chest of GAM was the biggest acquisition in this trade. The market for domestic players moving within MLS has increased significantly in recent years. Kaye scored four goals and three assists in 11 months with the Rapids and his value doubled in that time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLong term, we&#8217;re certainly going to look to bring in another center back to challenge. And we also now are looking at bringing in an 8 that&#8217;s going to reinforce the midfield,\u201d said Smith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Colorado\u2019s trading for a better fitting CM this window, they\u2019ll need all that GAM. It\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll be making a move for both positions without another significant departure. Smith was clear they haven\u2019t given up on this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if there\u2019s an answer at center back in house and Zardes starts scoring, they\u2019ll need an impact signing, possibly two to make that happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Last Word on the Mark-Anthony Kaye trade: CanMNT implications<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark-Anthony Kaye is the best if not, one of the best Canadian midfielders in MLS right now. The one player fans will point out is joining CanMNT teammate, Jonathan Osorio. There are also other players from TFC who played with the CanMNT, like Jacob Shaffelburg and Ayo Akinola. Also, being Canadian was a factor in Toronto FC getting Kaye from the Colorado Rapids.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is important to note there are possibly going to be other players emerging from TFC III and TFC II that could make the national team. Akinola before he got his injury last year was one of TFC\u2019s most dangerous scoring weapons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He showed some of his former self when he scored two goals against CF Montreal in the Canadian Championship. Jayden Nelson, another 19-year-old is another example as he is breaking through this year. This is what Bob Bradley said about Nelson, including the fact that he has the ability to get away from guys according to Lizzy Becherano of 90MIN:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.90min.com\/posts\/jayden-nelson-earns-bob-bradley-praise-and-sparks-canmnt-conversation\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMore moments where his skill, his speed, his quickness catch your eye.\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Photo Credit: John A. Babiak @Photog_JohnB<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO, ON &#8211; Friday night, Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids announced a blockbuster trade for Canadian international midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. TFC gave up $1.025 million in GAM, promising teenager Ralph Priso, an international roster slot, and a first round draft pick for Kaye. As a result, Mark-Anthony Kaye joins the midfield with familiar CanMNT player [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1044,"featured_media":43849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3406,16,2,3,5],"tags":[2865,459,2869,773,4218],"class_list":["post-43887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada-mnt","category-rapids","category-featured","category-news","category-tfc","tag-bill-manning","tag-bob-bradley","tag-mark-anthony-kaye","tag-padraig-smith","tag-ralph-priso"],"modified_by":"Raheem Bashir, Site Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1044"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}