Good Friday Caps fans, hope you all are having a good week and are gearing up for a much-deserved break. Everything is good over here, aside from the fact that I’ve yet to get used to the darkness when I wake up — damn daylight savings.

The midweek brought a new member of the squad, as the Caps sealed the deal for Canadian central midfielder Ralph Priso, who comes over from Colorado. Priso arrives after a disappointing spell in Colorado, who acquired him for Mark-Anthony Kaye.

Priso remains, somehow, 21-years-old, despite the fact that he burst onto the scene brightly and Toronto and is on his third club. Observers attribute some of this to an ankle injury he sustained in 2021, after which he hasn’t quite been the same.

The Caps are sending up to $150,000 in GAM to Colorado as well as a first round pick and a third round choice in next year’s SuperDraft. Initially I thought the price was pretty steep but the Caps actually have two picks in the draft and they’re giving up the latter of the two. I’m always a believer that a team like Vancouver, who actually has made use of the SuperDraft to good effect, should never be giving up their picks and the context around the terms of the deal placate me.

This is something of a last chance hotel for Priso. There’s no use pretending that his time in Colorado was all that good but a peek at his Football Reference shows some decent underlying numbers when it comes to tackling and playing through balls. Colorado has been a pretty grim destination for talent lately and, when you combine it with recovery from a major injury, I could see an argument where a change in scenery would do him some good.

From the Caps’ perspective, it makes a lot of sense. J.C. Ngando is headed out on loan, leaving the midfield depth a bit suspect. Priso, I believe, is only under contract for this year and next year, meaning that there is some long-term flexibility there if things don’t work out. And he obviously won’t take up an international roster spot, making him a better value as depth than Ngando.

From a personal perspective, I wouldn’t have minded seeing the Caps use some of their more promising Whitecaps 2 players to fill out the midfield depth but I see the point that you don’t want good teenagers languishing on a bench, instead of getting first team minutes. The Caps will eventually need to make a call about whether their youngsters have a future in Vancouver with the first team but this was perhaps not that time.

In any event, Priso will likely get some looks sooner rather than later, with Andres Cubas called up to the Paraguayan national team later this month. Seb Berhalter is the only thing standing between Priso and some minutes so we might get a chance to see, sooner rather than later, what he’s got.

Shameless Self Promotion

Our podcast breaks down the first win of the season in San Jose and charts where things could be headed this weekend against FC Dallas.

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