Galaxy bolsters attack with Cristman

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Jan 11, 2011

[MLS] Adam Cristman, a former Rookie of the Year finalist whose career has been hampered by injuries, is on his way to his fourth MLS team. In the wake of Edson Buddle signing with German team Ingolstadt and the trading of Tristen Bowen to Chivas USA in November, the Galaxy has traded its first-round Supplemental Draft pick this year to D.C. United for Cristman. The four-year veteran played 17 games (eight starts) for D.C. last year, scored two goals, and earned one assist.

His career stats are 68 regular season games, 12 goals, and six assists. Drafted out of the University of Virginia by the Revs in the fourth round of the 2007 SuperDraft as the 48th overall pick, Cristman played 28 games, scored four goals, and assisted on four others. He was one of three finalists for Rookie of the Year honors, which went to Toronto FC midfielder Maurice Edu.

A toe injury limited him to 18 games in 2008 yet still he scored six goals. Traded to Kansas City for the 2009 season, he managed to play just five games because of a fractured metatarsal. Another trade sent him to his hometown of Washington, D.C., but he was unable to hold down a regular place as United managed a league-low 21 goals.

Cristman, 26, joins an unsettled forward corps in Los Angeles, to which he brings decent size (6-feet, 180 pounds) and some ability to hold the ball and get shots on frame. The club is trying to sign Juan Pablo Angel, selected in the Re-Entry Draft, and has retained the services of veteran Jovan Kirovski.