He's always wanted to move abroad before calling it quits, so I get it and not that surprised he has wound up in MLS given his injury history. He'll be a useful player for the Whitecaps if they can keep him fit. They're actually pretty decent, given they're in the Western Conference where any/every good player tends to get tempted or try to move as west as possible and live in California. They're keeping pace with the top teams in the west
I've watched MLS casually, flitting in and out, and the standard has improved so much. Dedicated football-first facilities now, better playing surfaces and players moving in and out of the league for decent fees. US teams tend to look to South America a lot to recruit