Orlando City Acquires Adam Bedell From Columbus Crew For SuperDraft Pick

Orlando City acquired a forward on Thursday, and no, it wasn’t Chicharito.

The club announced this morning that it has sent a second-round pick in the 2016 Major League Soccer SuperDraft to the Columbus Crew in exchange for second-year forward Adam Bedell.

“We’re looking forward to working with Adam,” said General Manager Paul McDonough in a statement. “We have seen him quite a few times over the last two years and played against him last preseason and U.S. Open Cup this year. Adam is a big athlete that brings a different look to our group of young striker options.”

Bedell, a 23-year-old forward from Livonia, MI, spent the 2015 season on loan with the Austin Aztex and Richmond Kickers, of USL, after making 16 appearances for the Crew last season, scoring two goals. He added another tally in a friendly against Crystal Palace.

Crew Head Coach Gregg Berhalter told the Columbus Dispatch that the move came from just having a glut at the position.

“It was just the depth chart,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “That’s what it is. Adam is one of the players who made the biggest percentage jump in performance from one year to the next. He’s improved drastically. The fact is we’ve got Kei Kamara, Jack McInerney and Aaron Schoenfeld right now, and we play with one striker.

“It’s not going to be easy for him to get on the field right now and because of that we felt that if he has a better opportunity, we’re happy to help him out.”

At 6-foot-7, he’s easily the tallest player on Orlando City’s roster — and in all of MLS, even — with a good three inches over Pedro Ribeiro. He played center back in college at Detroit Mercy, before transitioning to forward when he went pro, so Orlando City could potentially plan to play him on the back line if needed.

Aside from that, he’s an upgrade over the almost invisible Danny Mwanga on the roster, and also takes Martin Paterson’s forward spot without requiring an international slot. According to the recently released MLS salary data, Bedell is slated to earn just $60,000 this season.