Toronto FC open DP spot as Carlos Salcedo returns to Mexico

TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Mutual contract termination

Toronto FC and defender Carlos Salcedo have mutually agreed to terminate his MLS contract, effective July 15, the club announced Tuesday.

The move opens a second Designated Player spot for Toronto and comes a little less than six months removed from the 28-year-old center back arriving from Liga MX’s Tigres UANL in a swap of former DP winger Yeferson Soteldo.

Salcedo, reportedly set to join Liga MX’s FC Juarez, played in 13 league games (all starts) for Toronto during the 2022 season.

“We’d like to thank Carlos for his efforts during a difficult time,” TFC president Bill Manning said in a release. “In the end, Carlos felt it was most important to return to Mexico to be with his wife and children. We fully support Carlos’ decision and wish him the best in the future.”

Roster background

Salcedo’s departure continues a wildly busy Secondary Transfer Window for Toronto, who opened a DP spot last week when trading Alejandro Pozuelo, the 2020 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, to Inter Miami CF for $150,000 in General Allocation Money.

The next day, they acquired Canadian international midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye in a trade with the Colorado Rapids for $1.025 million GAM, midfielder Ralph Priso and other assets.

Concurrently, Toronto are heavily linked with signing Italy national team attacker Federico Bernardeschi as a DP; he’s a free agent after leaving Juventus. Bernardeschi would continue their Italian influx after forward Lorenzo Insigne arrived from Napoli as their DP centerpiece (signed pre-contract in January) and defender Domenico Criscito joined from Genoa.

Toronto, with two DP spots open after offloading Salcedo and Pozuelo, are poised to continue their transformational summer as the Secondary Transfer Window runs through Aug. 4. They sit 12th in the Eastern Conference standings (19 points; 5W-10L-4D record), seven points beneath the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line.