The Houston Dynamo have acquired midfielder Arturo Álvarez in a trade with Chicago Fire FC, the club announced today. Houston traded its natural second-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft to the Fire.

A Houston native, Álvarez joins his hometown club after 12 seasons in Major League Soccer, the last two of which were with Chicago. Álvarez has played in 237 career games with 146 starts in regular-season play, scoring 32 goals and registering 30 assists.

“We are pleased to add Arturo Álvarez to our roster as we prepare for the 2018 season,” said Dynamo Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “His quality on the field along with his professional approach to the game will make him a good addition to our group.”

Álvarez has represented El Salvador at the senior international level 43 times and has scored four goals. He has represented the country of his parents’ birth in the 2011 and 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cups, the 2014 Copa Centroamericana and FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches. One of his four international goals came at BBVA Compass Stadium when he netted the second goal in a 2-0 win by Los Cuscatlecos over Belize in the 2014 Copa Centroamericana.

This season, Álvarez appeared in 25 games with 13 starts, scoring three goals and notching two assists for a Fire club that rebounded from a last-place finish in 2016 to 55 points and third place in the Eastern Conference.

With the addition of Álvarez, the Dynamo now have 15 players currently under contract.

HOUSTON DYNAMO PLAYERS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT

DEFENDERS (5) No. Player Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality 3 Adolfo Machado DF 1 31 6-0 160 Panama 4 Philippe Senderos DF 1 32 6-2 181 Switzerland 16 Kevin Garcia DF 1 26 6-0 185 USA 21 George Malki DF 1 24 5-10 160 USA 22 Leonardo DF 8 29 6-2 185 Brazil MIDFIELDERS (5) No. Player Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality Arturo Álvarez MF 12 32 5-9 170 El Salvador 5 Juan David Cabezas MF 1 25 6-0 175 Colombia 18 Memo Rodriguez MF 1 21 5-8 145 USA 25 Tomás Martínez MF 1 22 5-9 145 Argentina 28 Charlie Ward MF 1 22 5-8 168 England FORWARDS (5) No. Player Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality 9 Erick Torres FW 5 24 5-11 168 Mexico 11 Andrew Wenger MF 6 26 6-0 185 USA 12 Romell Quioto FW 1 25 5-11 170 Honduras 17 Alberth Elis* FW 1 20 6-0 165 Honduras 19 Mauro Manotas FW 3 22 6-0 155 Colombia

* On loan from another club.

TRANSACTION: Houston Dynamo acquire MF Arturo Álvarez from the Chicago Fire in a trade for a 2019 natural second-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft.