The most relevant number in the Kerri Hanks and Francielle to Sky Blue trade is this: One.

Not the one goal Hanks scored, but the fact that Athletica traded two players and got one in return. Wednesday, July 1 is the league’s trade deadline. Also, it’s the day rosters are frozen. The 22 players you have on your roster on July 1 are the 22 players you can use in the playoffs.

Before the trade, Athletica’s roster was at 22 players. But that doesn’t include Daniela. Since the team thinks — even if it won’t say it — it will get Daniela back for the end of the season, they have to put her on the 22-player roster by July 1. So to do that, they had to get down to 21, and to do that, they had to move someone.

Will they get Daniela back? Right now, she’s in Brazil, where Jorge Barcellos told me she’s dealing with some personal matters but will be back by the end of the month. When she got hurt, the team put her on the 60-day disabled list — rather than declaring her out for the season — and that ends on July 2. How soon she’s playing is still uncertain, but the team thinks she will be back. The physical therapist the team brought up from Brazil has gone back there, and is working with Daniela while she’s there. There apparently was a slight setback in her rehab, but I think she could be playing by the start of August.

There are some players on Athletica who don’t play much — Erin Walter, Sheree Gray and third goalie Erin Kane — but they’re developmental players, and your roster is 18 regular players and four developmental, and since Daniela will be a regular player, they had to move someone from the group of 18.

Francielle has barely played — her last appearance was June 7 — and Hanks has played just 80 minutes in the past four games. Her goal on Saturday may actually have made her more desirable to Sky Blue. And with the limit of five international players per team, to acquire an international like Walsh, the team had to trade an international, Francielle.

Barcellos is high on Francielle, the youngest player in the league, but with the team making a playoff drive, waiting on the future wasn’t an option. Barcellos has told me again and again and again that he wants to bring a championship to St. Louis, and he wants to do it this year.

In the short term, there’s reason to go with Walsh instead of Hanks. Players just out of college have struggled this season. Even Amy Rodriguez, who you would have thought would have no trouble moving into the pros considering her international experience, has gotten significant bench time in Boston. Walsh, 26, is a veteran international. Eight of the top 10 scorers in the league are foreign players.

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There have been two major trades in the league this season, both involving Athletica. First they got Christie Welsh and Kendall Fletcher for draft picks from L.A., now they’ve got Sarah Walsh for Kerri Hanks and Francielle.

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As I said in an earlier post, Walsh, Hanks and Francielle won’t play this weekend because their paperwork won’t be taken care of.

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The other part of the deal is trading the rights to unsigned Brazilian midfielder Renata Costa, who is playing in Sweden, for another unsigned Brazilian midfielder, Ester. If anyone knows where Ester plays, please share because I haven’t been able to find her. Is she in Sweden? Germany? Brazil?

The conditional pick Athletica gets depends on whether or not Renata Costa signs with Sky Blue. If she does by Dec. 1, Athletica gets Sky Blue’s first round pick in 2011. If she doesn’t sign, they get the second round pick in 2010.

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As things sometimes happen, I talked with Hanks after practice today but before the trade was finished. She was in good spirits after the goal, which she said had taken a lot of pressure off her. On Saturday after the game and again on Friday, I thought she looked the happiest since the draft. After I talked with Hanks, I spoke with Tina Ellertson and asked her if Hanks seemed more cheerful. She disagreed strongly, saying Hanks had stayed upbeat throughout and was as happy as ever. The person the trade may be toughest on is Ellertson’s daughter Mya. If Mya was around the team and not with her mom, odds are she was with Hanks.

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I’m guessing it’s because of a stadium conflict, but L.A.’s game with Chicago on Saturday kicks off at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles. That means it’s a noon start here, and if you’re really dedicated, it’s being broadcast on the Sol’s website, www.LosAngelesSol.com. And if you listen, you can hear Aaron Heifetz, the PR guy for the U.S. women’s team and as big an expert on international women’s soccer as you can find, doing the color commentary.