Matt Hedges is Verde now.
In a move expected since Sunday, the veteran MLS defender — who has spent the bulk of his career with FC Dallas — is returning to Texas after moving to Toronto FC last offseason in a somewhat surprising offloading.
According to the club's release, "Toronto will receive up to $475,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) – $375,000 in 2024 GAM and an additional $100,000 in 2025 GAM conditioned on the player’s roster status on January 1, 2024. Upon completion of the trade, Hedges signed a new contract with Austin that will keep him with the Verde & Black through the end of the 2024 season with options for 2025 and 2026."
Matt is VERDE. 🌳
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 26, 2023
Welcome to Austin, Matt Hedges! pic.twitter.com/CVEbX0JJnu
The GAM spend is a little less than the reported $500,000 sum and gives Austin a veteran center back who can slot in as a starter — something that Josh Wolff has characterized as a priority this summer transfer window. With first-choice center back Leo Väisänen out until at least September with an LCL injury, and with other first-choice center back Julio Cascante starting the cascade of center back injuries plaguing the 2023 Verde season just seven minutes into it, Hedges provides Wolff some security in filling out a lineup sheet.
It also allows Alex Ring, who has spelled at center back for most of the season, to slot into the midfield rotation once he recovers from injury.
The move announcement comes just hours after Austin FC announced that the six-month Amro Tarek center back experiment came to an end, with contract buyout opening up a senior roster spot now filled by Hedges.
“Austin FC is a growing organization with everything in place to be successful,” said Hedges by way of press release. “I’m excited to join the team and can’t wait to get started.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Matt and his family to Austin and to Austin FC,” said Austin FC Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell in his player announcement press release debut. “He has consistenly been one of the league’s best center backs for the last decade, and his talent and experience will be very valuable to the team.”
Hedges, 33, has well over 300 starts and appearances in his MLS career, starting it in 2012 in Dallas, where he was a one-team player before last winter's move to Toronto.
The club release notes Hedges "is one of only 25 players in league history to play at least 27,000 career regular season minutes, and ranks eighth among active MLS players in minutes played."
"FC Dallas fans have started to get used to life without Matt Hedges in hoops, but seeing him in Verde will be a shock to the system," said Striker emeritus and current FC Dallas radio announcer Jon Arnold. "Romanticism about a club legend aside, Hedges' move to a team with less of a mess than Toronto will give him a chance to prove FCD's front office wrong and show that he still has several years of top-level soccer left in his legs."
It's unclear whether Hedges will be added to Austin FC's Leagues Cup roster in time for Saturday's match with FC Juarez, or whether he'll first be available for selection when Verde resumes league play on Aug. 20. Toronto FC included Hedges on its roster, but his now former club makes its Leagues Cup debut against NYCFC on Wednesday night.
