Kellyn Acosta will go from one of the top teams to one of the worst in MLS. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

FRISCO, Texas – It’s not every day a U.S. international gets traded in Major League Soccer.

Monday, it happened.

FC Dallas has dealt midfielder Kellyn Acosta to the Colorado Rapids for forward Dominique Badji, an international roster spot through 2019 and the Rapids’ first round selection in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.

The Rapids received FC Dallas’ first- and second-round selections in the draft.

Acosta, 22, will go from the top of the Western Conference with first-place FC Dallas (11-3-6, 39 points) to virtually the bottom to 11th-place Colorado (4-11-5, 17), which is 13 points out of the sixth and final playoff spot.

He was signed as FC Dallas’ seventh Homegrown player July 12, 2012. He has appeared in 116 regular season matches, scoring nine goals and 12 assists. Acosta has made 17 international appearances for the national team since 2016.

“It’s never easy to say goodbye to a player like Kellyn Acosta who has meant so much to the entire FC Dallas family,” FC Dallas technical director Fernando Clavijo said. “Dominique gives us a scoring threat at the forward position that can be a difference-maker for us this season.”

Badji, 25, has seven goals and two assists in 15 starts for the Rapids this season, including a hat trick against Philadelphia and a goal against Sporting Kansas City. The Senegalese forward was drafted by Colorado in the fourth round (67th overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. He has appeared in 91 regular season matches for the Rapids, scoring 24 goals and 12 assists.

“It’s definitely something that I’m looking forward to,” Badji said from Senegal. “It gives me a lot of energy and I’m just going to look forward to being out there and start that new chapter.”

FC Dallas also retains 50 percent of any international transfer value on Acosta until the closing of the 2020 summer transfer window.

“Dominique adds a scoring touch that will complement our roster as we look to stay competitive at the top of the table the second half of the season,” FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said. “Kellyn has grown up with the FC Dallas organization. He will always be a wonderful part of our history.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.