Weeks after signing defender Tomás Jacob to a U22 Initiative deal, Atlanta United appears to be close to signing another player to its backline.
Atlanta and San Lorenzo are nearing a transfer agreement for left back Elías Báez, according to Tom Bogert. It would be for approximately $3 million.
Báez has been connected to Atlanta United since prior to the new year. Argentinian journalist Sebastian Srur reported on Dec. 10 that while River Plate was keen to sign the 21-year-old, Atlanta United had emerged as a “strong economic rival” to acquire Báez’s services. But after River reportedly landed Flamengo’s Matias Viña on loan after the departure of Milton Casco, the path was laid for Atlanta to bring Báez in.
Along with Jacob, Atlanta has brought in former Newell’s Old Boys goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos on a free transfer. The addition of Báez would almost certainly mean the end of Pedro Amador’s time with the club. Atlanta still needs depth in several areas, including the wings, attacking midfield, and centerback. Some outright new starters on the wings can’t be out of the question, either, as this area of the pitch sorely lacked (among others). Moves like that can’t happen without trades or outgoing transfers, as Chris Henderson mentioned in his year-end press conference in November.
Be sure to bookmark our Atlanta United transfer tracker for the latest transfer news and rumors as they come in.
| Get Atlanta United and NWSL Atlanta training ground updates, audio and video content you won’t see anywhere else, Discord access, and more. Support us on Patreon and help support independent soccer coverage here in Atlanta! Click here to start a 7-day free trial. |
[…] open up a U22 slot for Atlanta. They’ve already brought in Tomás Jacob on a U22 deal and are on the verge of doing the same for Elías Baez. It’s not out of the question to see the third slot used on a winger that will offer more […]
[…] open up a U22 slot for Atlanta. They’ve already brought in Tomás Jacob on a U22 deal and are on the verge of doing the same for Elías Baez. It’s not out of the question to see the third slot used on a winger that will offer more […]
[…] Atlanta United close to signing San Lorenzo LB Elías Báez via U22 Initiative, per report […]
Looks like Slisz is gone. Makes total sense, I’m cautiously optimistic about this offseason.
He was probably one of our more consistent player. Where did you hear this rumor?
Kind of sucks we end up being net zero since we got him on $3.5M and selling him for $3.5M
curious how the playing time will be split between Amador and Baez, assuming the signing becomes official
Guessing Amador would be sold, though one weakness we’ve had is the lack of good backup options for our fullbacks so who knows. Amador was a beast when he arrived, he regressed under Deila, would hate to see him go but I get it. We’ll lose a few more players due to signings, we have to.
I would still rather play Amador unless the team believes Qui Chong is more first team ready. Can’t imagine getting rid of Amador when we barely have depth at the FB spots.
Yeah, I’m very curious to see whether we keep Amador or not, speculation seems to be split on this.
Not sure what caused Amador’s problems in 2025 – whether it was a lingering injury or bad management, or combination of both. Would like to see him get a chance to redeem himself, but if the new signing is meant to replace Amador, then I hope he is traded to a club he can start at.
I still blame Deila…you mean to tell me Brooks, Amador, and even Hernandez at times all forgot how to play FB at the same time?
I think Baez is being brought in to start. He was the only player for San Lorenzo to start every match and played almost every minute of the season for them. They had a decent year (7th in the table), but featured a top 3 defense in GA (their offense did not score even a goal per game). I’ve only seen highlights, but the guy is 20 or 21 and was an iron man for a very sound defensive team. The money paid also indicates the idea is to start him. I’m optimistic Amador looks more like 2024 version with Deila gone, but if memory serves he was viewed as a depth piece when he was acquired. His cap hit is also only $265k, which is fine for a backup in this league. I’m also not sure I saw enough of anything out of Chong Qui to suggest he’s ready to be on the first team, even as a backup. It may even be a disservice to him at this point in his career. He just turned 18 like a week ago, so maybe another year with AU2 with maybe a few callups to the first team?
I liked this rumor when it first arose about a month ago. Glad to see they’ve been working details. In a quick read through social media; it sounds to me like the selling clubs fanbase is not happy about him leaving and generally feel the number is low from their expectations on him as a prospect. That is generally a good sign for us. Trusting Tata on this.
The U22 initiative is dead. Long live the U22 initiative.
[…] Atlanta United close to signing San Lorenzo LB Elías Báez via U22 Initiative, per report […]