Oakland Roots announced they’ve released veteran midfielder Rafael Baca on a mutual agreement on Tuesday.
It’s a surprising move from Oakland, parting ways with an international midfielder they acquired toward the end of last season. With just two-and-a-half weeks before its season-opener in Orange County, Baca was looking like a presumable starter in Roots’ midfield going into 2025.
Oakland now has just three midfielders on its current roster, including Camden Riley, Danny Gomez, and Tyler Gibson. The release results in paper-thin depth at the position, making it an obvious area for improvement.
Given Baca was an international player and a former starter by the end of 2024, Roots may have another signing coming down the pipeline similar to when Dom Dwyer and Miche-Naider Chery were released in January.
He arrived in Oakland in September following his release by mutual consent from Monterey Bay FC.
Baca, 35, started his career with the San Jose Earthquakes under Yallop in 2011, staying for another two years until Yallop’s release from San Jose in 2013. From there, Baca went on to become a mainstay at Cruz Azul from 2014-2023, helping them lift several trophies.
He is a two-time Mexican Campeón de Campeones champion (2021, 2022), Mexican Clausura champion (2021), Mexican Super Cup Winner (2019), Mexican Cup winner Apertura (2019), and a Leagues Cup champion (2019). Baca closed his time at Cruz Azul with 245 appearances, 205 starts, and a total of 18,097 minutes.
In 2024, Baca showed he still brings quality after being the USL Championship Player of the Week following the league’s second match day on March 19 with Monterey Bay. After being released by Monterey, Baca signed with Roots in September.
For his 14-year career, Baca has appeared in a total of 360 matches, started 311 times, scored 11 goals and 16 assists in 27,105 total minutes. He started five times for Oakland Roots.
Here’s an updated list of Oakland’s roster moves this offseason.
I’m guessing that Wolfgang Prentice may end up playing midfield, but even with that the mid field does seem very light. Sounds like a recipe for lot’s of long balls out of the back.
I still think Wolfy lines up on the left. I think the timing of this announcement means a final roster addition will be revealed shortly.