Summer Transfer Window: 2021
A tale of two players and two teams moving in different directions. Two teams, both in need of a striker, two players changing teams and situations, with one scoring big and the other struggling through the year. This move saw one team steadily advancing towards the playoff line, the other trying to climb out of the cellar. Two strikers of almost the exact same age (25), size (5'10" - 163 vs 5'10" 170), there is little there to distinguish the two. One of the players is setting the league on fire on a weekly basis, the other has yet to make an impact. One move at the Summer Transfer window transformed another team in the Western Conference's season and has catapulted them to playoff contention. The move for your Houston Dynamo has had absolutely no impact, and one could easily argue was a "negative impact" move. These misses are what have plagued the Dynamo for nearly a decade, and this move was a microcosm of what has been an Achilles heel here for quite some time. In one of his last moves, Matt Jordan missed a golden opportunity. Which two players am I talking about and what has their impact been? Let's take a closer look.
Corey Baird: 
On Friday, July 30th the Dynamo announced the signing of Corey Baird from LAFC for $750,000 in GAM allocated over two years. The deal cost the Dynamo $68,000 this year, and another $681,000 next year. Baird, a one-time MLS Rookie of the year had seen his career come to a crossroads. Managing just 7 goals and 5 assists over his last 51 appearances (40 starts, over 3,600 minutes played) Baird had been moved to LAFC in January of 2021 for $500,000 in GAM spread over 2 years. Posting 3 goals and 2 assists in his first 7 appearances, the speedy striker was having a fairly solid start to the season. Baird had earned 750 minutes through the first part of the season, appearing in 13 games and making 9 starts before losing his spot making only 1 start over his last 8 games with the team after the arrival of Christian Arrango. “We are thrilled to welcome Corey to the Houston Dynamo,” Dynamo senior vice president and general manager Matt Jordan said in a statement to MLS.com. “He can play a variety of positions in the attacking third while adding important league and national team experience to our group. When you look at his age, character, and skillset, he is the type of player and person we want to be a part of our club moving forward.” Baird has been plagued by two things since arriving (1) Injuries (2) Lack of finishing. Baird never found his footing, suffering first a "Lower Body Injury" which kept him out for most of August, and then suffering a season-ending knee injury on October 3rd against Sporting K.C.
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Baird often makes terrific runs and has the ability to get by opponents with the ball at his feet. A good passer, Baird can find teammates on the move in dangerous positions as well. Baird also has been putting the ball on target this year, with 13 of his 24 shots on target (54%: good for 8th in the league), and 5 of his 9 shots in #ForeverOrange. Baird's problem, however, is getting the ball past the keeper. His career mark of 0.39 Goals/Shot on Target is mediocre by professional standards, and he hasn't netted more than 5 goals in a season since 2019 (7 goals, 5 assists in his last 3,988 minutes before coming to Houston). Baird had seen a steep decline in production since his Rookie of the Year campaign, netting 8 goals and 5 assists in 2018, 5 and 3 in 2019, 2 and 2 in 2020, and 3 and 2 this year, none as a Dynamo player. Along with his lack of production, the Dynamo managed to go 1-4-2 in his 7 appearances, going scoreless in 4 of them. Managing only 5 points in 7 games, with 0 goals and 0 assists from a guy you paid $750,000 for in the Summer Window hurts, especially for a team with playoff aspirations, especially with the team searching for production from the Striker position. With Maxi Urruti also struggling through the entire summer, the job was there for Baird to take. While the injuries derailed his time here, Baird never seemed like the #9 for this team. He often was just missed on his runs, and of his 5 shots on target, 4 of them were direct to the keeper. While Baird's guaranteed salary of $396,031 is about 1/2 what the team was paying Christian Ramirez, the move seems puzzling based on what we paid for a declining player. Tab Ramos had worked with Baird for the U.S. U-20 team, and it's possible the Front Office thought Tab could pull something out of him. The move backfired, and the Dynamo are still on the hook. While this move could pull off long-term (Baird is still under contract until 2023), the 25-year-old needs a complete career overhaul in order for this to work.
Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)
White has been exactly what the White Caps needed, and they exactly what he needed. Stuck in a logjam at NYRB, White was brought in for $400,000 in TAM (plus another $100,000 in performance incentives) on June 2nd, 2021. He had become the odd man out in a crowded Red Bulls front line, with Patryk Klimala, Fabio, and Caden Clark leading the attack. White made an immediate impact, making a start and netting a 54th-minute goal in his first Whitecaps appearance. Hitting the skids, White saw his production slip as he managed 0 goals and 1 assist over his next 10 appearances (8 starts, 650 minutes). White then caught absolute fire banging home 11 goals and dishing out 3 assists over his last 14 calls to action. White is now the hottest striker in MLS and leads all American-born strikers in Goals scored. Highlighted by a hat trick against San Jose on October 22nd, White's rise could come as a surprise. If you look at his production over his complete body of work, however, it shouldn't.
In just around 2,000 MLS minutes, White had posted 13 goals (7 appearances (27 starts). White was by far the most productive and efficient NYRB attacker in the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, outpacing Daniel Royer, Kaku, and Tom Barlow in terms of Goals per Minute played, and he was their leading scorer (5 goals) in only 817 minutes played during 2020. Hardly the first option, the scrappy White makes key runs and finds open space in front of the net with regularity, and manages to score the ball in a variety of ways. Of his goals this year, 6 have come off his right foot, 2 off his left, and 4 off his head. He's scored 6 of his goals inside the 6 yard box, 6 inside the 18. White is a dangerous player because he's smart and never gives up on a play. Note his first goal against San Jose in the hat trick, White took the ball in front of a defender, one touched it perfectly to Ryan Gauld who fired a shot just to San Jose Keeper J.T. Marcinkowski's right. Marcinkowski deflected it, and White was in the perfect position to tap it home for the goal.
What's most frustrating about this move, is White cost far less ($400,000 - $750,000), has a much lower salary ($219,000), and has been much more productive. The Whitecaps, after struggling initially after this move (going 0-3-2 in his first 5 appearances) and seeing a series of draws (5 straight from July 20- August 13), the Whitecaps have posted 9 wins in his last 14 appearances (9-2-3 over that span), 8 of those came with him in the starting lineup. The Whitecaps jumped into playoff contention, and have a striker for the future. This is a move that needs to be talked about here, when you look at what we paid/are paying for Maxi Urruti, what we paid/are paying for Corey Baird, these are complete misses from the most important position on the field. What is mind-boggling about these moves, is White's came almost a month before Baird's, which should have set a market value for the position. Having this kind of production from a non-DP level striker is the equivalent of having an NFL quarterback on a rookie contract. Going forward, it's an enormous advantage. Would it have vaulted the Dynamo into playoff contention this year? Probably not, but it would have filled a much-needed hole going forward, and answered one roster question for next year. In April, I wrote how Front Office creativity was a bigger problem than lack of funds. This is an example of that. Hopefully, Pat Onstat fixes this problem in a hurry. I'm not part of that original fan-dom, I wasn't here when he played here and don't have that personal connection, but seeing the positive messages and a long-needed outpouring of hope and positivity from a struggling fanbase, I'm glad he's here.
Until Next Time,
Remember to #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange,
