The Trimming Has Begun

It's no secret the Red Bulls have the highest payroll in MLS.

This afternoon, it got a bit thinner.

Frank Giase at NJ.com and the Star-Ledger is reporting the Red Bulls won't pick up their options on Jan Gunnar Solli, Teemu Tainio, Bill Gaudette and Jose Angulo.

In total, letting go of the three frees up $487,005, though Solli and Tainio carry most of that burden with a combined price tag of $390,000.

Out of those four, Solli's probably stings the most. He was a fan favorite and a pretty versatile player. He and Tainio's departure is a function of their role on the team, though. Solli's role became rather ambiguous with Brandon Barklage taking the top spot at right back. In the midfield Solli didn't have the speed the team needed. Tainio's physical limitations made themselves known this year, with an injury keeping him out of the line-up for half the season. That, along with the coming out party that was 2012 for Dax McCarty, relegated him to the "not needed" bin.

If the team kept them around, that's nearly $400,000 on the bench. In MLS those roles are usually filled for a fraction of the price by younger, more athletic players with some potential.

Gaudette is another player you hate to see go, but with Ryan Meara returning next year and Luis Robles deciding MLS is worth his time after all, you wonder if that is the sort of situation Gaudette wants to be in anyway. Gaudette's salary was $63,255.

Angulo is largely an unknown quantity, but he was below Jhonny Arteaga on the depth chart and with Arteaga's play in the U.S. Open Cup you wonder how good Angulo actually is. Angulo was paid $33,750 last season.