The Red Bulls yesterday acquired midfielder Dax McCarty from D.C. United in exchange for Dwayne De Rosario.

De Rosario is a four-time MLS Cup champ and five-time all-star, but the 24-year-old McCarty, who makes $155,000, is 9 years younger, about $300,000 cheaper, and leaves cap room for further moves to help shore up the Red Bulls.

“Dax is an exciting, young player who’ll immediately add his dynamic style of play to our midfield,” Red Bulls general manager Erik Soler said. “He’s an excellent two-way player who’ll contribute both to our defense and to our attack for seasons to come.

“To acquire such a promising player, we had to make a difficult decision in trading Dwayne.”

De Rosario, 33, was acquired by the Red Bulls from Toronto on April 1. The team scored 23 goals in the 13 games he played and just four in the four he didn’t.