And then there were three.
The Union on Wednesday traded forward Danny Mwanga to the Portland Timbers for Colombian forward Jorge Perlaza. With Mwanga gone, only three players remain from the original Union roster: Amobi Okugo, Jack McInerny and Roger Torres.
Mwanga had seen his role reduced in 2012, playing in nine games but not registering any starts. In 2011 Mwanga played in 28 matches, starting 13. All of the Union originals have not seen much playing time in 2012. The trio of Okugo, McInerny and Torres have played only a combined 325 minutes. Union defender Carlos Valdes leads the team in minutes played with 978.
The Union selected Mwanga as a Generation Adidas signee with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, the club's inaugural draft pick. In his first two years Mwanga scored 12 goals and added eight assists. He had not scored and registered just one assist in 2012.
Perlaza has played 10 professional seasons, most of them in Colombia's first division. In 2011, his first season in the MLS, Perlaza scored six goals and added two assists in the Timbers' inaugural season. Perlaza has played in 10 games (six starts) this season.
The Mwanga trade is the latest in a litany of house-cleaning moves for the Union, who earlier this year traded fan favorites Danny Califf, a former captain, and Sebastien Le Toux, their leading scorer the last two seasons. Mwanga is the second leading goal-scorer in franchise history with 12 goals. Le Toux had 25.