TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Roster Update
After a largely disappointing 2018 title defense, Toronto FC began their offseason roster adjustments on Tuesday with a flurry of personnel decisions for next season, highlighted by the decision to decline 2019 contract options on veterans Clint Irwin and Tosaint Ricketts and terminate the contract of midfielder Ager Aketxe by mutual consent.
Irwin, 29, was the Reds’ starter in goal during their 2016 run to MLS Cup before Alex Bono won the job in 2017 and kept hold of it this year. A six-year MLS vet, he has a 1.42 goals-against average and a save percentage of 65.4 in 121 career MLS regular-season games.
Ricketts, 31, played a supersub role in last season’s historic treble campaign, scoring seven goals and one assist, though his minutes ebbed this season. The Canadian international has 15 goals and three assists across 58 combined regular-season and playoff appearances.
Arriving as a showcase Targeted Allocation Money signing last winter, Aketxe struggled to settle in with Toronto and left in midseason to return to Spanish club Cadiz CF on loan. The Basque playmaker notched one assist in 11 MLS appearances. TFC also announced that defender Jason Hernandez and Homegrown forward Jordan Hamilton are out of contract, with Hernandez eligible for free agency.
The loan deals for fullback Auro Jr. and forward Lucas Janson will both expire on Dec. 31, though media reports have suggested that the club could still be seeking avenues to secure both players’ services for next season.
Toronto did exercise the contract options on goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell, defenders Ashtone Morgan, Drew Moor, Nick Hagglund, Julian Dunn and midfielders Jay Chapman, Ryan Telfer and Aidan Daniels, leaving them with 22 players under contract for 2019 at present:
