FRISCO, Texas – After six seasons with FC Dallas, 23-year-old midfielder Dax McCarty switched clubs twice on Wednesday, becoming the Portland Timbers’ No. 1 Expansion Draft selection and then getting traded to D.C. United less than three hours later.
The veteran linking midfielder was left unprotected by FC Dallas for the Expansion Draft just three days after featuring as a starter for FCD in Sunday night’s 2-1 MLS Cup defeat to the Colorado Rapids. He was then traded by Portland to DC United for left back Rodney Wallace and a draft pick.
“[Being left unprotected] was out of left field, definitely a surprise,” McCarty told MLSsoccer.com of being left unprotected by FC Dallas. “But that’s the way this league works.
McCarty had at least some sort of head's up about the trade to DC, however.
“My agent had told me that he had discussions with DC and they were fairly interested in bringing me in and what I would think about that," he said. "My words then were, ‘Yeah, I’d absolutely be interested in going to DC.' The fact that it’s happened and is a done deal is very exciting for me.”
McCarty found out he was among the 11 players left unprotected by FCD right after the team returned to Dallas on Monday evening, less than 24 hours after the loss to the Rapids.
When the team arrived at Pizza Hut Park, an announcement was made to the players about who had been protected and who had not.
“Unfortunately with the timing of it all, the way they did it wasn’t really how they wanted to do it," McCarty said. "They just called everyone into the locker room and read the list off. It was definitely a bit of a surprise."
Even though the last few days have been a bit of a blur, he still has nothing but good things to say about his time with FCD, who drafted him sixth overall in the 2006 SuperDraft.
“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind but this is the business we’re in,” McCarty said. “One minute you’re playing for a championship and the next minute, you’re on a different team. My five years in Dallas were fantastic. I have nothing but great things to say about the organization.”
And leaving behind his teammates is going to be the toughest thing about his shift to the Timbers.
“The guys in the locker room are the best group of guys I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “They were like brothers to me. That’s going to be the toughest part, is moving on from them. … It was a phenomenal season to end my Dallas tenure on.”
In 93 career games with FCD, including 71 starts, McCarty scored five goals and had 16 assists. Even though he’s only 23, he already has six years of MLS experience under his belt, something that could pay dividends in the nation’s capital.
“I know they didn’t have the year that they wanted to have last year, but you can see with the talent they have, the young players that they have all the building blocks to start building a really, really good team,” McCarty said. “It’s a fantastic, tradition-rich and probably the club with the most tradition in MLS. Excellent fan base and just a place I’m really, really looking forward to going.”
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