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Per a team press release, the New England Revolution today claimed midfielder and club legend Shalrie Joseph in the Waiver Draft, and he has been added to the team's roster. Per club policy, further contract details were not released.
Joseph, 35, re-joins his original MLS club after spending the last year and a half with Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC. Originally drafted by the Revolution in 2002 out of St. John's, Joseph signed with the Revolution ahead of the 2003 season and played nine and a half seasons in Foxborough until he was traded to Chivas USA in August 2012.
After playing the remainder of the 2012 season with the Goats, Joseph was traded to Seattle in February 2013. Seattle waived him earlier this year after he made 10 regular-season and two postseason appearances last year.
Joseph has made 283 career appearances in MLS - including a Revolution-club record 261 appearances. He has scored 40 career goals and added 35 career assists in the regular season, including 37 goals (to rank fourth in the club's records) and 34 assists (to rank third in the club's records) in New England. Joseph was a finalist for the 2009 MLS Most Valuable Player award, and was a four-time MLS Best XI selection and an eight-time MLS All-Star selection.
The last time Shalrie Joseph wore a Revs kit, he was a Designated Player for the club. Now, two years later, he'll likely find himself among the lower rungs of the Revolution ladder. That said, Shalrie has a wealth of experience in MLS and with the Revolution, something that coach Jay Heaps and General Manager Mike Burns mentioned they'd be looking for with their acquisitions for this 2014 campaign.
Just where Shalrie fits into Heaps' new system, however, is unclear. In 2012, Joseph spent time as a holding midfielder and an occasional center back for the Revs. If we're to believe he has been added to the roster with an aim to play him as the former, then he'll have to beat out the Revs' other second-time-around veteran, Andy Dorman, for that spot. He could add depth in central defense, but the Revs are already 5-deep at that position, if not more. It will be interesting to see just to what capacity Joseph plays for New England this year.
The Revolution now have a single, solitary roster spot left available. New England has made no roster moves outside of the league or the SuperDraft since last summer's transfer window. Will they look abroad to fill that final spot? We'll see.