COMMERCE CITY — The Colorado Rapids have loaned midfielder Juan Ramirez to Spanish second division club U.D. Almería for six months, the club confirmed Tuesday.

Terms of the loan were not disclosed.

“(Ramirez) had a tough time acclimating. He was away from home for the first time,” Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “There’s a lot of personal issues that were involved with this decision. Nothing to do with the actual player.”

Ramirez was signed as a young designated player in February 2015 from Argentinos Juniors, in a deal that involved a transfer fee north of $2 million.

Ramirez — a 5-foot-8, 150-pound left-footed winger — wasn’t the impact player the Rapids had hoped for in his first season. He scored one goal in 27 appearances (15 starts), and added three assists.

At the end of the 2015 season, Rapids vice president of soccer operations Paul Bravo said he felt Ramirez was still adapting to MLS.

“As for putting a grade and a score on him, it’s unfair to him because he is young,” Bravo said in November. “He still has plenty of time and upside to grow into the type of player that we think can make a real impact for us in this league.”

Bravo said Ramirez needed to improve his fitness, his “game-specific strength” and his overall production on the score sheet.

“He’s shown to be statistically an elite dribbler in this league. He creates a lot of fouls, which give you set piece opportunities,” Bravo said. “And the next phase for him really is bringing that production to the table.”

In the meantime, Mastroeni said the Rapids are actively searching for wingers for the 2016 roster.

“We are definitely looking for two impact players in those positions to come in and make a difference,” Mastroeni said. “We’re in the process of making that happen.”

Mastroeni said talking to other coaches around MLS, he felt most teams were behind the curve during this winter transfer window due to players in Europe holding out.

“This is not unique to us to be in a situation where we’re yet to solidify the group coming into preseason,” Mastroeni said. “It seems like everyone throughout the league is in that same type of holding pattern so to speak.”

Rapids trade defender to FC Dallas

The Rapids on Tuesday announced they have traded Honduran national team defender Maynor Figueroa to FC Dallas in exchange for general allocation money. Terms were not disclosed.

Figueroa was signed at the summer transfer window deadline and appeared in 10 matches, scoring one goal.

In November, the 32-year-old was quickly identified by Bravo as one of the team’s core players moving forward, but then his contract option was declined later that month.

Daniel Boniface: 303-954-1104, dboniface@denverpost.com or @danielboniface