Columbus Crew SC today announced that it has acquired general allocation money from the Portland Timbers in exchange for defender Chris Klute. Per club and MLS policy, additional details of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We’d like to thank Chris for his contributions to our backline and our club in 2015,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. “This transaction will provide Chris an opportunity to gain valuable playing time while providing Crew SC with salary cap flexibility for the 2016 campaign.”

Klute made 14 appearances (eight starts) this season with Columbus after being acquired from the Colorado Rapids in a trade at the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. He made an additional appearance for the Black & Gold with a start in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 at Orlando City SC on June 30. Over his MLS career, the Grand Prairie, Texas native has made 71 appearances (63 starts), registering eight assists.

Following the transaction, Crew SC's active roster stands at 20 players. Details of this and all of the Black & Gold's moves ahead of the 2016 campaign can be found at http://bit.ly/TransactionTracker1516.

TRANSACTION: Columbus Crew SC acquires general allocation money from the Portland Timbers in exchange for defender Chris Klute on December 11, 2015.