L.A. Galaxy Say Goodbye To Jaime Penedo, Hello To Donovan Ricketts
By Sean Maslin
It seems as if the only thing that is permanent in Los Angeles Galaxy land these days is Bruce Arena’s tepid responses to questions from the media. After adding a few utility players named Steven Gerrard and Giovanni Dos Santos and saying goodbye to Stefan Ishizaki one might have thought that would be it for L.A. But the club made another huge move this week, announcing that it had parted ways with starting goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.
To replace Penedo the club has picked up veteran Donovan Ricketts from Orlando City S.C. Ricketts actually featured for the Galaxy from 2009-2011 and was part of their 2011 MLS Cup-winning side. The 13 year veteran has made 10 appearances for Orlando this season but lost his starting spot to Tally Hall in June.
In exchange for Ricketts, the Galaxy have sent their 2016 MLS SuperDraft second round pick to Orlando. With Ricketts gone, Earl Edwards Jr. will likely serve as Hall’s back-up.
Penedo has spent the past two seasons as the Galaxy’s number one goalkeeper. He has compiled a record of 25-12-17 and being an integral part of the side that won the 2014 MLS Cup.
Contract issues appear to be the driving force behind this move. In an Instagram post Penedo said the following:
According to figures released by the MLS Players Union, Penedo had a base salary of about $175, 000 dollars this year and was guaranteed about $178, 125 in total. What is interesting about the Galaxy waiving Penedo is that by doing so he can essentially sign with any MLS team without them receiving anything in return. That is a very curious move for an organization that is usually careful with these sorts of things.
For the team on the pitch, although Ricketts is a bit older than Penedo (Ricketts is 37 while Penedo is 34) he should serve as a quality short term replacement. The question now is if Brian Rowe or Brian Perk, who have both served as Penedo’s back-ups in recent years, can take overtake Ricketts for the starting role with the L.A. Galaxy going forward.