Seattle’s Mauro Rosales has joined perennial MLS strugglers Chivas USA (AP Photo).

With the Seattle Sounders dumping Argentine Mauro Rosales and his $225,000 salary, Chivas USA swooped in to immediately upgrade their roster ahead of Thursday’s MLS Re-Entry Draft with the kind of exciting, attacking player needed to signal the seriousness of their ambitions on and off the field.

In exchange for Rosales, Chivas USA gave the Sounders the MLS rights to forward Tristan Bowen and its No. 2 allocation ranking for Seattle’s No. 13 allocation ranking. Bowen earned $156,363.63 last season.

“Chivas is the team that has trusted me to help with what I’ve done in my last club, Seattle,” Rosales said. “Obviously I’m grateful for that confidence, and what the team is giving and betting on for next season.”

Here’s more from the Sounders’ press release on the importance of Rosales to the club:

Rosales, 32, co-leads Sounders FC with 34 career MLS assists and holds the club record with 17 game-winning assists across all competitions. Rosales ranks second in MLS with 34 assists since 2011, and ranks fifth in league history with an average of 0.50 assists per 90 minutes (minimum of 20 assists).

Bowen, a former Galaxy player from Van Nuys, scored two goals for Chivas USA last season.