Well, folks, it happened. Oliver Larraz, a player identified in the “Sensible Whitecaps Transfers” series, has indeed signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Let’s go into a little bit more detail about why this is a move that makes a lot of sense for both the Whitecaps and Larraz.

Career History:

Larraz (24) is a graduate of the Rapids Academy and played his first minutes for them in 2021. He spent time on loan with the San Diego Loyal in USL and in MLSNP with Rapids 2. He played big MLS minutes for the first time in 2024, when he appeared in every single league game for the Rapids. In 2025, he was once again a mainstay for the Rapids, appearing in one fewer game but playing about 200 more minutes.

Stats:

The main draw of Larraz is his defensive play.

In the fbref chart above, Larraz is being compared to the “men’s next 14 competitions.” So this includes leagues outside Europe’s top 5, like the English Championship, MLS, and the Belgian Pro League. So being in the 78th percentile for combined tackles and interceptions is pretty impressive. My eye is also drawn to his being in the 94th percentile for tackles in the attacking 3rd, which should mesh nicely with Vancouver’s high pressing system. Additionally, if you grew up having the importance of “putting your body on the line” stressed to you in hockey broadcasts, you have to love the number of shots he’s blocking.

Larraz is also, slightly counterintuitively for a defensive midfielder, quite good at dribbling. He doesn’t cover very much ground with the ball, but he attempts a lot of dribbles and his success rate is very high.

Where things start to get a bit concerning is on the passing side of things. Larraz is below the 50th percentile in both progressive passes and passes into the final 3rd. The Cubas-Berhalter double pivot works so well because Cubas is an elite ball winner, and Berhalter is elite at getting the ball to the danger men with his passing. But if Berhalter becomes unavailable for whatever reason, what happens then? I have concerns about any one of Larraz, Jeevan Badwal, or Ralph Priso being able to pick up the slack in such a scenario.

Of course, we must consider that Colorado was not very good last year and finished as one of the lowest possession teams in the league. You’ll note in the two previous charts that Larraz hovered around the 50th percentile in both touches and passes attempted. It’s hard to progress the ball if you don’t have it! Of course, even accounting for this, Larraz’s ball progression lags a little behind his touches and passes attempted. But he should have more to show on a stronger team. In fact, there is already some precedent for Larraz progressing the ball well on a strong team. In 2023, Larraz was part of the Rapids 2 team that finished top of MLSNP. Here is his ASA radar from that season:

Now, obviously, this was at a much lower level, but that’s pretty good! I don’t expect Larraz to return to this level, but it does suggest that on a stronger team, he has more to offer.

Wider Squad Building Implications:

Larraz made just 130k last season. So even if the Whitecaps doubled or tripled his salary to make this signing happen, he’s still a good value contract. Larraz is American, so he does not take up an international roster slot. The move makes a lot of sense for Larraz as well. It gives him the opportunity to play in a stronger team and be in a good position to cash in after the 2028 season, when he will still only be 27, if he performs well. I have to imagine, after the Whitecaps saw so many of their players be selected by the US and Canadian national teams in the last year, that Vancouver is a very attractive destination for this sort of player. Miami might be where you want to sign if you’re already an established star, but if you’re the type of guy who wins the “unsung hero” award and you want to be a little bit more sung, then Vancouver is where you want to be.

As it stands, the Whitecaps have 2 open roster spots, 1 senior and 1 supplemental. When meeting with the media, Axel Schuster stated that the club is looking for 3-4 additional signings. I don’t know if you know this but, 3 and 4 are both more than 2. This means that some additional players will need to depart in order to accommodate those additions.