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It came out late on Monday that Tony Cascio would be moving to the Houston Dynamo, and in return the Rapids would be getting an international slot for the 2014 season. My initial reaction was that the Rapids were getting shafted a bit with such a small return for a player with Cascio's potential, regardless of how bad his 2013 season was. Fortunately, it came out that it was merely a loan, with the Rapids essentially getting a single year of a Dynamo international slot in return for Cascio's services in Orange for a season.
Interestingly, the Rapids and Dynamo have made a bit of history with their move. MLS only began allowing loans from within the league last season, and the announcement that it could happen wasn't met with any particularly loud fanfare. Prior to that, MLS teams could loan players to lower division teams or teams in other countries, and could receive players on loan from the same, but couldn't work players around within the league.
Cascio's move to Houston will be the first such loan in the league's history. It will work like a loan in just about any other league would work: Houston get full rights to Cascio and can play him in any game they wish, with the exception of games against the Rapids.
Whether or not that loan is going to turn into a full blown transfer at the end of things (it's been rumored that the Dynamo do have an option in place to bring him in full-time if it works out) but it's still interesting to see some history being made here.