The Portland Timbers have acquired midfielder/defender Jeremy Hall from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for a 2011 third round draft pick, the expansion club announced Monday.
“Jeremy is a versatile, young footballer who has a tremendous upside,” Timbers technical director Gavin Wilkinson said in a statement.
Hall, a University of Maryland product, was a first round pick in the 2009 SuperDraft (11th overall). He made an immediate impact in his rookie year, starting in 22 games and tallying an assist.
However, his production dipped in his sophomore year after suffering a quad strain that limited him to just nine starts in 2010. He earned an assist against Philadelphia on April 24 and scored his first goal in a Red Bulls jersey in a 3-1 friendly defeat of Italy's Juventus on May 23.
“We want to thank Jeremy for his service to the club,” Red Bulls general manager Erik Soler said in a statement. “We think that this is a mutually beneficial decision for Jeremy and the club. At his age and given his bright future, Jeremy needs to play more matches and we believe that this is the best move for him.”
The former US U-17 standout has played on both flanks, whether on the back line or in midfield. At Maryland he led his team with 14 goals and seven assists en route to the Terrapins' 2008 NCAA championship.
The Timbers also acquired an international spot from the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for allocation money. The spot is good for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, after which it returns to the Galaxy.
“By acquiring this additional foreign spot, this allows us to invest in a young player who should prove to be a tremendous asset to the future of the organization,” Wilkinson said.
The trades came just hours after clubs submitted their list of protected players ahead of the Expansion Draft, in which the Timbers and fellow expansion club Vancouver Whitecaps each select 11 league players as they build for 2011.
