Confirmed: Minnesota United Trade for Defensive Reinforcements

In a move first reported by Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press on Friday, Minnesota United have reportedly traded midfielder Mohammed Saeid and winger Josh Gatt to the Colorado Rapids for midfielder Sam Cronin and Marc Burch.

Minnesota sent midfielders Josh Gatt and Mohammed Saeid to Colorado in exchange for veteran defender Marc Burch. The club also sent their natural third-round pick in the 2019 SuperDraft to the Chicago Fire in exchange for Chicago’s #1 waiver priority position, a spot needed to nab Cronin from waivers.

Minnesota also traded away an international spot as part of the deal.

The Loons were clearly in need of defensive help after conceding 18 goals in their first four games, and the two Rapids players certainly fit the bill.

Sam Cronin was Colorado’s captain and is a defensive midfielder who thrives in front of the back four. Some steel was sorely missing from that area of the pitch, and Cronin looks likely to bring that.

Journeyman left back Marc Burch has been in MLS since 2006 and has played in over 200 matches. Fullback has been a problem area for United so far, and the move for Burch is a step forward in addressing that.

Jeff Rueter from Fifty Five One reports that there is no TAM or GAM involved in the trade.

Neither team has announced the trade, and we will update as the story develops.

Update: It appears that MNUFC will be on the hook for part of Gatt’s contract still, so money is involved in a way.

Update 2: According to the Denver Post, Colorado received an international roster spot in the trade, Saeid is a Swedish international.

Update 3: United confirmed the move Friday evening via Twitter, and apparently the whole thing was a bit more complicated than we initially thought.

Minnesota United traded their third round pick in the 2019 SuperDraft to the Chicago Fire (yes, the Fire. I don’t know why they were involved in this either) in exchange for their #1 waiver position. MNUFC then used that position to claim Sam Cronin off waivers.

The actual player exchange between Minnesota and Colorado saw United send Mo Saeid, Josh Gatt, and an international roster slot to Commerce City for Marc Burch.