TORONTO

From San Jose Earthquakes reserve to MLS all-star to U.S. international and back, Justin Morrow has had one hell of ride since wrapping a breakout 2012 season.

A little over 12 months ago, the 26-year-old was playing against Chelsea in an all-star game. He represented the U.S. in two massive World Cup qualifiers last March.

A year later, Morrow, the left fullback Toronto FC acquired in a trade shortly before the new year, found himself benched when the ’Quakes decided to go in a different direction to close last season.

“It was a quick process,” Morrow told the Toronto Sun on Monday.

That’s that.

End of story.

When he was asked to expand on the deal, Morrow’s quick to avoid delving into the past.

“(The trade) happened,” he said. “They called me and told me about it. I talked to some players and I was just excited about coming here. I’m here now.”

He couldn’t be in a better situation.

Morrow has been starved for playing time since San Jose brought in English veteran Jordan Stewart as his replacement last July. After starting all but one regular-season game during San Jose’s run to the Western Conference semifinals a year earlier, he saw his playing time cut in half.

Now, he’s in a situation where he’s likely to be head coach Ryan Nelsen’s go-to guy on the left side of TFC’s defence, especially after Ashtone Morgan failed to mature enough last season to convince most around the club he’s the long-term solution out wide.

“When you’re a footballer, you just want to be part of something big, part of a winning organization, a winning team,” Morrow said. “You want to win trophies while you’re a player. Toronto has shown commitment to the now and the future. Being part of it is incredibly exciting.”

Morrow’s familiar with a handful of guys in the team. He competed alongside new Designated Player Michael Bradley at the international level and played collegiately with Bright Dike at Notre Dame.

Upon learning he had been traded north on Dec. 11, though, the first person he heard from was his new head coach.

“Ryan reached out to me and said TFC is looking to do big things this year,” Morrow explained. “I told him I was onboard. I’m all for it. I’m a winner. I’m going to give Toronto everything I’ve got. He said he was going to take care of me.

“I expect that out of myself. I have high expectations because I demand a lot out of myself. I think everyone here can see that.”

Barring a plethora of catastrophic injuries to U.S. defenders, Morrow’s unlikely to feature for the Americans at the coming World Cup in Brazil.

Still, a quality start in his first season at BMO Field could at least force U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to take a look.

“Any time you get a call-up for your national team, that’s the highest achievement a footballer can achieve,” Morrow said. “I bring that national-team quality, so I’m excited to bring that to Toronto.”

He arrives in a market much different from that of San Jose, where smaller crowds and media pressure isn’t close to what it’s expected to be by the lake this season.

“Everyone has high expectations for us,” Morrow admitted. “We have high expectations of ourselves but we need to take it step by step. We need to get off to a good start. We need to be strong defensively. I think making the playoffs is a good and attainable goal.”

At this point, it’s likely the bare minimum.

REDS SEND ECKS TO NY

Richard Eckersley is no longer a Red.

The hard-as-nails fullback’s time at Toronto FC officially came to an end on Monday, three months after off-season speculation kicked up that the Englishman had played his final game in TFC red.

The club confirmed a deal is in place to send Eckersley to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2017.

“Moving someone that has been with the club for an extended period is always a difficult decision,” TFC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. “However, with the acquisitions we made during the off-season — particularly in defence — along the cap relief, this move made sense.”

Emphasis on salary cap relief.

Eckersley’s departure is more or less the final high-priced piece the club’s new top brass had aimed to clear from its books beginning last season.

After Torsten Frings’ contract was bought out, the Reds took aim at Darren O’Dea’s costly deal.

They’ve dropped Danny Koevermans, Stefan Frei and Eckersley from the books since October, clearing close to $1 million in cap room ahead of the 2014 season.

“We’d like to thank Richard for his contributions to the club over the past three seasons and wish him all the best in New York,” Bezbatchenko said.

Head coach Ryan Nelsen will now look to Bradley Orr and Mark Bloom to hold down the right side of TFC’s defence.

If either falters, off-season Brazilian import Jackson is capable of dropping into defence from midfield.