Marry/Boff/Kill: Gonzalo Segares

Ordinarily, a game of "Marry/F**k/Kill" involves a naming a group of three subjects who presumably have something in common, and challenging the people in the conversation to choose one fate for each subject - one to partner with for good, one explored for a connection but not kept, and one cast off into the outer darkness. Fans of 30 Rock will recognize this game in its safe-for-primetime version, Marry/Boff/Kill, which name we're borrowing because we do not want SB Nation getting angry emails.

Here at Hot Time, we're going to use the game to talk about players - specifically Chicago Fire players, naturally. We're going to use it as a way to talk about the roster. It works like this: ‘Marry' indicates a willingness to keep the player regardless of cap issues or any other considerations; ‘Boff' (i.e., ‘F**k) means that we're, uhh, f**king the player over, asking for modifications to their contract or running them through the Re-Entry Draft process - we're interested but not on these terms; and ‘Kill' means terminating the player's contact with CF97.

We're going to present some kind of argument for each outcome, and let the community have their say. I mean, why not? It's something like three months until the first preseason friendly.

Gonzalo Segares, #13, 31 years old

2013: 34 appearances (all starts), 2855 mins, 0 goals, 1 assist

Career w/Fire: 210 appearances (207 starts), 18157 mins, 11 goals, 14 assists

$155,000 base salary, $168,333 guaranteed

Marry/Boff/Kill continues with Gonzalo Segares, our ironman left-back from Costa Rica. Since returning from a brief stint playing in Cyprus, Sega has been ever-present in the lineup, thanks in part to a roster which offered him precious little cover. In 2013, he struggled at times with a lack of pace, getting caught in difficult positions and unable to outrun any poor judgements.

The case to ‘Marry'

As with Pause, loyalty should count for something. Segares tried his hand in Europe, didn't dig it, and came back to the Fire post-haste. Since then, we've played the legs right off the guy. He's durable, reliable and plays his heart out. Also, Segares agreed to have his deal down-sized just last offseason, getting more years for less money. Asking him to do it again would not send good signals to players we are hoping to recruit, in my view.

The case to ‘Boff'

That said, if Frank Yallop doesn't see Segares as a week-in, week-out starter, then even his smaller contract is fairly pricey. Sports is a cruel business, and part of that cruelty is just how rapidly one's value deteriorates past the age of 30. Would another MLS team take a stab at Sega for $155 thousand? And how would Gonzalo respond to having his wages cut two off-seasons in a row?

The case to ‘Kill'

Cutting Segares makes about zero sense, but surely there's someone out there advocating it. True left backs who can do what Segares does are not common in MLS, but this is a league that has a tradition of cruelty to guys who've lost a step or two, especially on the wings - there may not be many tricksters in the MLS winger pool, but there are surely a bunch of guys who can run like the wind.

So, what's it gonna be for 'Zalo?