Quick: Who is the best fullback in MLS?
...
Exactly.
Yesterday's announcement that Bradley Orr was cashing in his "played with Ryan Nelsen" card to cross the Atlantic to play in MLS is a bit baffling, but it must be viewed through the prism of the league.
No one wants to say fullbacks aren't important, but when you are building a team on a $3.09-million salary cap, and an estimated $1.3-million is tied up on four players (if Laba stays and is a $200,000 cap hit) then, well, fullbacks aren't important.
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They certainly aren't $400,000 cap hit important, which is why the only red slightly-above-replacement-level Richard Eckersley will feature in 2014 is on the top of his head. It's also why Ashtone Morgan was given a lot of time to regain the form that saw him surprise in 2012--Morgan is free to the club as a homegrown signing.
We don't know what Orr will be paid, but we do know that the man who decided how much used to be in charge of placing value on all players, league-wide. It's quite possible that no one in the world understands how much (or little, as the case may be) a fullback is worth in MLS than Tim Bezbatchenko. So, let's assume his cap hit is "not much."
Not much could also be what he contributes in 2014. That's not actually meant as an insult. So long as Orr doesn't make the team worse, he's a replacement level MLS fullback.
But, will he make the team worse?
Well, the scouting reports aren't encouraging. Orr appears to be the type of player that does stuff on the pitch that make fans come up with derivative nicknames to call him (I.e. Darren O'Dear (O'Dea), Tassels (Terry Dunfield), or Try Harder (Ty Harden)).
Advanced stats are (slightly) more promising. A quick look at his numbers in the Championship show a dead average player, while his 2012 numbers in the Premiership suggest he's a Championship level player.
They also reveal a player that contributes next to nothing going forward. That's fine, as wingback is close to a dirty word for most MLS managers.
The intangible factor in Orr's signing is his temper. He's considered a bit of a hothead and that might not go well with the style of refereeing found in this part of the world (often referred to as "arrogant incompetence"). Orr could be a red card waiting to happen.
All this analysis could be overkill as well. Orr could be here as a back-up or rotation player. The club likes Mark Bloom. Not enough to hand the job to him without question, but the right fullback position appears to be one that can be won in preseason.
A preseason in which TFC will actually start with a full roster of players! Here in Toronto we understand better than most that we shouldn't take the importance of that for granted.
By the way, the best fullback in MLS is probably Todd Dunivant.