TORONTO, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Major League Soccer's Toronto FC announced Friday it has acquired midfielder Nathan Sturgis from the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps.
To get Sturgis, 23, Toronto gave up its first-round pick in the 2011 MLS Super Draft.
Sturgis "is a player who will be able to make an immediate impact in our team next season, but is also young enough to play a role here in the long term," said Earl Cochrane, Toronto FC interim director of soccer.
"We studied the options that would likely be available to us with our first-round pick in the MLS Super Draft and made the decision that the addition of Nathan is of greater benefit to our squad."
Sturgis has been in the league five years. He started with the Los Angeles Galaxy and has also played for Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders.
