The Colorado Rapids have made their first signing this offseason: centerback Auston Trusty from the Philadelphia Union. The 21-year-old Homegrown Player started in 22 games for the Union in 2019, who finished third in the Eastern Conference last season. In 2018, he was the only Philadelphia player to play every minute of every single game.

“Auston is one of the best young defenders in MLS and we’re excited to have him join the club,” said Pádraig Smith, Colorado Rapids Executive Vice President & General Manager. “Despite his young age, he has already gained significant experience in our league and has demonstrated his ability to compete at the highest level and we expect him to fit right into the young, dynamic core of players we are building our roster around.”

Trusty has earned six appearances with the U.S. Men’s National Team U-19 squad, 10 appearances with the U-20 squad, and got his first senior team call-up for the January camp this year. He was on the roster against Panama and Costa Rica, but didn’t play. More recently, he was called up for the U-23 training camps in June and September. He subbed in during a friendly against Japan on September 9th and featured in the U-23’s win against El Salvador on October 15 (along with Jonathan Lewis and Sam Vines).

The Rapids signed Trusty in exchange for $300,000 in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) payable in 2020 and $300,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) payable in 2021. The Union will get an additional $150,000 in GAM in 2021 if Trusty meets certain performance-based incentives. Philadelphia will also get a percentage of any sell-on fee should Trusty be transferred outside of MLS.