Columbus Crew trade captain Jonathan Mensah to San Jose
The Crew have traded center back Jonathan Mensah to the San Jose Earthquakes.
San Jose will cover the entirety of Mensah's salary, which was $1 million per the MLS Players Association salary data released last fall, and the Crew will receive a guaranteed $200,000 in general allocation money in return, plus an additional $150,000 if Mensah is on the San Jose roster after the roster compliance date in 2024 and another $150,000 with the same terms for 2025.
The Earthquakes announced Thursday that they will be without center back Nathan indefinitely after he tore his ACL, which is what motivated their acquisition of Mensah.
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Mensah, 32, signed with Columbus in 2017 and was named the team's captain in 2020 as he helped lead the Crew to win MLS Cup. He made 159 appearances in six seasons and scored six goals. His contract with the Crew was set to expire after this year.
"Throughout the offseason, we’ve been working with our new head coach in Wilfried Nancy in terms of what sort of style of play and his visions for the game, and we’ve been talking about our roster," Crew general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. "As we moved into preseason, we knew there would be changes necessary to affect his vision for the game, one that is surrounded, and not just surrounded but really full of this idea of attacking soccer and being deliberate in the attack and in the final third.
"As we made decisions in the preseason, this opportunity came that other teams would be interested in Jonathan. We felt like the flexibility that it gives us, short-term and long-term, as well as our ability to add a defender."
Nancy's style of play, which relies heavily upon building out from the back, mandates that each of his players be comfortable with the ball at their feet. It was not a natural fit with Mensah's attributes as a more classic defensive center back.
Sources told The Dispatch that Mensah was notified approximately a week ago of his standing on the roster, and several teams were interested in trading for the MLS veteran. San Jose was willing to take on Mensah's full salary, making the Earthquakes the landing spot.
In many ways, trading Mensah is similar to the Crew's decision to trade Artur in November — moving out an older player, who was part of the MLS Cup run, to help the club get younger across the roster and open opportunities for players within the Crew organization.
"A successful roster in MLS typically is a blend of veterans and core players and young players," Bezbatchenko said. "We need to make sure, each year, we’re evaluating to determine if we have the appropriate blend of those players. What we’re really excited about is what’s happening in the Crew Academy and with Crew 2 winning a championship last year, what type of players can move from Crew 2 to the first team. ... Obviously, Wilfried has already noticed that they have potential. We want to be a club that looks internally at ourselves to promote from within first before we go out into the market, but we will do that too."
The Crew plan to look to the market in the near future for an additional defender, with several targets already identified and a goal of completing a signing fairly soon. Trading Mensah also allows for additional flexibility in the Crew's salary budget, which creates space for other acquisitions during the season.
"Part of this is really reflecting internally about ourselves and being excited about the players that we have on our roster," Bezbatchenko said. "But also, of course adding another defender and possibly more players over the next three to six months."
After his six years in Columbus, Mensah leaves behind a legacy that stretches far beyond the field. He was uniquely active in the community, working to have a meaningful impact on those around him. Bezbatchenko was emphatic that, despite the trade, Mensah will always hold a special place in the Crew's history.
"We’re tremendously thankful for him and his efforts in the community," Bezbatchenko said. "Obviously, as a leader on our team and as a captain, has served the club well and he’ll leave a legacy. ... We don’t want to take those things lightly and we want to wish Jona all the best in his career. We want to make sure that we continue a relationship.
"It’s hard right now, when you’re in the moment, in the middle of a trade, and you’re really focused on preparing for the season, but there’s also a life beyond and want to make sure that he knows this is his club for a long time, and forever in some ways."
Columbus Crew 2023 roster
The Crew roster as of Feb. 10, after trading Mensah
Goalkeepers (4):Evan Bush, Eloy Room, Patrick Schulte, Brady Scott
Defenders (9):Milos Degenek, Mo Farsi, Keegan Hughes, Jimmy Medranda, Steven Moreira, Jake Morris, Philip Quinton, Will Sands, Josh Williams
Midfielders (9): Luis Diaz, Kevin Molino, Alex Matan, Aidan Morris, Darlington Nagbe, Isaiah Parente, Yaw Yeboah, Sean Zawadzki, Lucas Zelarayan
Forwards (3): Cucho Hernandez, Christian Ramirez, Jacen Russell-Rowe
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew trade captain Jonathan Mensah to San Jose
