Mid-Season Roster Moves: Richmond Kickers add Ryan Baer on Loan from Seattle
The 23 year old midfielder was a first round pick in the 2025 MLS draft
The Richmond Kickers announced the addition of midfielder Ryan Baer on loan from the Seattle Sounders organization.
Per the clubs, the loan is for the remainder of the 2025 season, and financial terms were not disclosed.
Baer was the 28th overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, and had been assigned to Seattle’s MLS NextPro club Tacoma Defiance. There, he has seen limited minutes this season, making only two appearances.
The 23 year old spent his college career with West Virginia University, holding the program record for most matches started at 87. While at WVU, he played for USL League Two clubs Asheville City and Charlotte Independence 2. He was also a product of the Charlotte Independence academy during the club’s time in USL Championship.
According to Richmond Head Coach and Sporting Director Darren Sawatzky, Baer adds depth to a squad that has seen numerous short term injuries cause roster imbalance. Sawatzky added “he brings tenacity, bite, and a box to box mentality that will help us with our challenges so far this season.”
Sounders Director of Development Wade Webber added that “USL League One offers a strong culture and a demanding level of play, and we believe this experience will accelerate Ryan’s growth both on and off the field.”
Richmond is expected to make one more roster addition as early as tomorrow, which club officials have indicated will be a defender.
The Kickers are next in action on Saturday at home against Chattanooga Red Wolves. Baer is expected to be available for selection for that match.
Alex, I understand that the terms are not disclosed.
But is it a pretty safe bet to just assume the following (which is typical regarding loan deals):
Sounders take are taking care of player’s salary and travel expense to and from Richmond. Kickers take care of housing. And per diems for the player travel when he’s selected to travel.
To me, this seems like a text book loan move. Except…
Being a 28th pick and only seeing the field in two Defiance matches in a league that skews so young indicates to me that Sounders are very aware that they to needed to make this move sooner rather later. He needs to find his footing in the pro game.
If it wasn’t a custom to have player drafts in the US based sports leagues, I think MLS would have already pulled the plug on the process.
I attended a few that took place, here in Baltimore. While it can be fascinating to observe some of the wheeling and dealing, it seems to me to be more of an exercise for the sake of having one.