Here is the current Roster and Salaries: https://www.rsl.com/players http://www.spotrac.com/mls/real-salt-lake/ Who do we keep for 2018? Who goes? And what positions do we need to fill the most? The first number is BASE salary. The second is Guaranteed Salary. Senior Roster: Yura Movsisyan F DP $1,750,000 $1,973,750 Albert Rusnack M Young DP, INTL $825,000 $882,813 Kyle Beckerman M $750,000 $825,000 Nick Rimando GK $450,000 $470,000 Joao Plata F DP $350,000 $400,000 Stephen Sunday M INTL $240,000 $253,000 Justen Glad D HG $225,000 $246,700 Tony Beltran D $220,000 $230,950 Luis Silva M $200,004 $208,671 Luke Mulholland M $172,500 $172,500 Demar Phillips D INTL $155,004 $162,837 Chris Wingert D $134,004 $145,394 Chris Schuler D $127,500 $132,500 David Horst D $110,004 $115,004 Chad Barrett F $99,000 $105,000 Sebastian Saucedo M $90,000 $100,500 Matt Van Oekel GK $96,000 $96,000 Nick Besler M - - Jefferson Savarino F Young DP, INTL - - Marcelo Silva D - - Supplemental Roster: Omar Holness F GA,INTL $110,000 $133,500 Eduardo Fernandez GK HG $66,150 $66,150 Ricardo Velazco F HG $65,633 $65,633 Danilo Acosta M HG $65,625 $65,625 Reserve Roster: Jordan Allen M HG $178,000 $178,000 Jose Hernandez M HG,INTL $53,004 $56,379 Reagan Dunk D $53,004 $53,004 Brooks Lennon M HG $53,004 $53,004 Justin Schmidt D $53,004 $53,004 2017 Payroll Totals PAYROLL TYPE BASE SALARY GUARANTEED SALARY Senior Roster $5,994,016 $6,520,619 Supplemental Roster $307,408 $330,908 Reserve Roster $390,016 $393,391 Total Salaries $6,691,440 $7,244,918
This may be a more authoritative roster list: https://www.mlssoccer.com/rosters/2017/real-salt-lake Notable: International slots are Hernandez, Holness, Phillips, Rusnak, Savarino, and M. Silva. Sunny has apparently gotten a green card. I've heard Hernandez has been working on citizenship for a while, so he may not need a slot next year. And I don't think Plata is a DP anymore, but the rosters haven't updated.
Senior Roster: Yura Movsisyan F DP $1,750,000 $1,973,750 Albert Rusnack M Young DP, INTL $825,000 $882,813 # Kyle Beckerman M $750,000 $825,000 Nick Rimando GK $450,000 $470,000 Joao Plata F DP $350,000 $400,000 Stephen Sunday M INTL $240,000 $253,000 Justen Glad D HG $225,000 $246,700 # Tony Beltran D $220,000 $230,950 Luis Silva M $200,004 $208,671 Luke Mulholland M $172,500 $172,500 Demar Phillips D INTL $155,004 $162,837 Chris Wingert D $134,004 $145,394 Chris Schuler D $127,500 $132,500 David Horst D $110,004 $115,004 Chad Barrett F $99,000 $105,000 Sebastian Saucedo M $90,000 $100,500 Matt Van Oekel GK $96,000 $96,000 Nick Besler M - - Jefferson Savarino F Young DP, INTL - -# Marcelo Silva D - -# Supplemental Roster: Omar Holness F GA,INTL $110,000 $133,500 Eduardo Fernandez GK HG $66,150 $66,150 Ricardo Velazco F HG $65,633 $65,633 Danilo Acosta M HG $65,625 $65,625 # Reserve Roster: Jordan Allen M HG $178,000 $178,000 Jose Hernandez M HG,INTL $53,004 $56,379 Reagan Dunk D $53,004 $53,004 Brooks Lennon M HG $53,004 $53,004 Justin Schmidt D $53,004 $53,004 Here's my thoughts: RED would be the ones that I would think could be traded, released or whatever. Not all of course but they are the players that for whatever reason would be the first for me that would not return. GREEN would be the ones that I would definitely want to return for any number of reasons. BLACK whatever. # Not going anywhere. There is a lot of work to do across the board with this team and I don't think that it's a given that just because they played well down the stretch that will translate to success next season. Quality moves need to be made.
Just curious, why would you feel to move Plata? Do you feel that he has enough market to move him out? Does this change if he is not a DP?
Question not addressed to me, but I'll give my opinion anyway. MLS teams have figured out Plata. Muscle him off the ball before he turns, or rough him up before he receives the ball at all and he disappears from games. After thst, he tries to take people head on with the dribble and gets dispossessed 8 out of 10 tries. I feel he would do better in a less physical league where teams and refs tend to award skill over pure physicality.
Very valid points. However to play the devils advocate... Joao is one of our most dynamic players athletically, He was a leader down the stretch in the locker room per Petke, and the chrmistry between Plata/Savorino/Rusnak/Silva lead to one of the highest goal scoring runs in the history of the team. I for one would love him back, but I can see how the arguments for Plata thriving in a different, less physical league make sense.
It's easy to say cut 8 people. It's another thing to fill that big of a void. Yura's the obvious first domino. After that...Nick and Kyle. Then you see where your gaps are and what you have freedom to do.
I think it's mostly just wishful thinking. Of those people in red, you probably see the supplemental guys go, plus Yura, VanO, Wingert, and hopefully Schuler. With Sparrow in, then we're pretty well set on GK, minus having some random young person as 3rd string who plays for the Monarchs. Replace Schuler with someone young with potential upside, since we'd still have 3 CB's leftover. Replace Wingert with someone younger/in their prime. Yura is the most obvious move. Dump and replace with a forward worth the money. As far as Plata and Beltran go, I'm mostly fine either way. I'd prefer if we traded Beltran for someone that is better on offense, but at least if we stick with him, his defensive side is good. Plata seems to do well overall, but as others have said, he can get muscled off the ball too easily. I wouldn't be too upset if we traded him. Realistically, I don't see Beltran going, and Plata most likely doesn't either, unless an outside club came in with a good offer.
IMO, time for Beckerman and Rimando to take a significant (25%) pay cut. They should be looking to not necessarily be starters for every game. Plata should stay unless the system played doesn't play into his strengths. Then, for his own career, he should be sent elsewhere (hopefully out of the league in such a case). OR, they need to adjust tactics to take advantage of what he can give and minimize his weaknesses. He's deadly, but isn't getting chances like he used to get. Also, he appears slower... the accumulation of injuries? Keep Beltran, his defensive value outweighs his offensive shortcomings.
Are those roster designations 100% accurate? Because I'm in complete shock at Jordan Allen being able to be on the reserve roster.
If Beckerman gets 75% of his current contract, I will lose my mind. (For about 20 minutes, anyway.) There's no way to justify him as a TAM level player next year.
GO AWAY (Trade/Release/Whatev) KEEP LOWER PAY/STAY Senior Roster: Yura Movsisyan F DP $1,750,000 $1,973,750 Albert Rusnack M Young DP, INTL $825,000 $882,813 Kyle Beckerman M $750,000 $825,000* Nick Rimando GK $450,000 $470,000* Joao Plata F DP $350,000 $400,000 Stephen Sunday M INTL $240,000 $253,000 Justen Glad D HG $225,000 $246,700 Tony Beltran D $220,000 $230,950 Luis Silva M $200,004 $208,671 Luke Mulholland M $172,500 $172,500 Demar Phillips D INTL $155,004 $162,837 Chris Wingert D $134,004 $145,394 Chris Schuler D $127,500 $132,500 David Horst D $110,004 $115,004 Chad Barrett F $99,000 $105,000 Sebastian Saucedo M $90,000 $100,500 Matt Van Oekel GK $96,000 $96,000 Nick Besler M - - Jefferson Savarino F Young DP, INTL - - Marcelo Silva D - - Supplemental Roster: Omar Holness F GA,INTL $110,000 $133,500 Eduardo Fernandez GK HG $66,150 $66,150 Ricardo Velazco F HG $65,633 $65,633 Danilo Acosta M HG $65,625 $65,625 Reserve Roster: Jordan Allen M HG $178,000 $178,000* Jose Hernandez M HG,INTL $53,004 $56,379 Reagan Dunk D $53,004 $53,004 Brooks Lennon M HG $53,004 $53,004 Justin Schmidt D $53,004 $53,004 KB: Under 300K Nicky: Under 200K Jordan: Under 115K - though I don't think his contract is up so this wouldn't be possible unless we released and then resigned at a different deal
We get 125K in extra money that can be paid to HGPs to keep them on the supplemental or reserve roster. The reserve roster salary is 53K, and Allen's is 178K. 178-53=125 - whaddya know. In other words, we get a bonus 125K for HGPs, and we're using the entire amount on Allen to keep him off-budget. It's also why Saucedo, at a lower salary, is on the senior roster, and thus hitting our salary cap. If it's possible to re-work Allen's deal into the 115-120 area, it might give us room to extend Acosta while keeping both off-budget.
I am not sure why all of the Beltran hate here. He has been a long term vet, IMHO he has improved his offense the last two years at the very least being a threat to shoot. His shots are usually on frame and have heat. I was shocked he didn't have 3 goals this year. There were some amazing saves. His defense is top notch IMHO. The injury sucks, but I don't know that we'll get a better defensive player for a better contract. Sonny makes more than Tony for goodness sake and he plays half the season and didn't beat out Luke Mullholland for a spot. Also, Joao is a dynamic player. At his pay grade, I'd say he is a GREAT keep. I think we paid his contract down with TAM though. And why touch that four headed monster up top? I think we just need depth behind it. Other than that, I have to agree with Rimando and Beckerman getting pay reductions, but I hope that they get paid as our face for a decade. I like keeping Allen on a reduction. I also have seen enough out of Omar Holness and Chad Barrett to keep them for another year. Barrett looked like a threat the first few games of the season before that injury. For $100k, he's on a good contract.
Beltran is now 30. He isn't going to be learning new tricks. Was I surprised with his (limited) offensive abilities? Yes. But they aren't getting better. And he's now picking up injuries more and more constantly. His back issues concern me the most in those. Rumors I'm hearing about his knee are in the "he won't start on opening day" type stuff. That's not good. You sell high, this is likely the highest he'll be for the foreseeable future. Finally, he doesn't have leadership qualities. Many tag him as the next captain and I just don't see it. He came out publicly multiple times in the past few years - nothing changed. Great player, especially defensively, but I think we could use the money on a younger more offensive outside back. Sunny should be gone. Nobody will likely argue that. Joao is a fun player to watch, but I think he's at or very near his ceiling. His size limits him a ton and his athleticism is skewed by it. He's not quick, he doesn't beat players one on one much anymore. If a club in Mexico is serious about paying a transfer fee, I don't see a super strong argument to keep him. I won't be mad if he stays, but of the players in the 4 headed attack, he ranks 3rd or 4th.
Barrett will be 33 near the start of the season and is coming off of a major knee injury. I'd be surprised if anyone in MLS signs him.
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/feat...s-even-more-limits-leagues-highest-paid-stars TAM went from its initial mark of $500K to 800K, to $1.2M this year. A similar proportional increase of about half again its current level would put it around 1.8M, which is a very strong rate of annual growth. But rumor is that it's slated to leap to $3.2M, and increasing the salaries it could be used on to $1.5M.
What exactly did Barrett and Holness do to say keep them around? As Irondeep pointed out, Barrett is coming off MAJOR knee surgery and is far too old. Why give minutes/money to a 33 year old journeyman player when we have a guy like Hoffman or could go get a kid to potentially groom? Holness is a waste of space. The only reason he's still here is he was Generation Adidas. With that gone, I see zero reason to keep him. The guy couldn't get consistent minutes with the Monarchs. It ain't happening. Move on
I could see the argument for Barrett if he was making more like 60-70k. At that point it's probably cheap enough you can afford to gamble on him as a 3rd string guy. At 100k, that's nearly starting pay on the low end, or someone that should be a solid backup, something I'm not convinced of due to his age and the knee injury. Beltran isn't a guy I hate, but he's really only good defensively. With how the modern game has changed, you really need fullbacks that can contribute more on offense. I wouldn't be upset if he stayed, just like I wouldn't be upset if we traded him as well. I do prefer we trade him though. He's likely around his peak value, and with his back problems, there's no telling how long he'll last going forward.
You're thinking of a few years ago on salaries. Including midseason acquisitions, RSL paid around 20 guys at least $100K, so some of them are rotation guys, some are injury insurance. Including somehow having Morales on the books and the new guys, there was a full 11 making $200K or more. Seven others made at least $130K. With the normal budget bump of 7% and the TAM boost of reportedly $2M, that number isn't going down. Next year, the veteran minimum will be almost $70,000. If Barrett is on the roster, I'd be surprised if he's paid less, and shocked if his guarantee is under $90.
Fair enough. I was thinking lower end starting salary was probably 125-150, which wouldn't be too far off from where he's at now. I still don't think he's worth 100k though, given the age and major injury. I would hope we don't have a weird sense of loyalty to a guy that barely played a few games for us. As a side note, I'm happy that the minimum is at least a very livable wage for most people. Earlier years seemed like it would've been rough for people at the bottom. Knowing you had to have 1-2 roommates to make things work isn't fun.
hey, look, more reason to shed older players. Honestly, why would we want our third string FW to be Chad ********ing Barrett. Why not take a chance on a guy that could blossom into an actual player? We have Luis Silva already. We have the "veteran" part of this equation essentially covered. And if we're stuck with Yura? HOLY ******** don't sign yet another older player. Go young. It worked with Rusnak over Javi It worked with Savarino It worked with Acosta It worked with Glad We got burned because we didn't do it with Salcedo PLAY/SIGN YOUNG PLAYERS. Stop thinking the answer to the team is older guys. It's not. Read the ********ing Pulisic article if you don't agree with me. We're wasting valuable time for young players by sticking to the likes of Chris ********ing Wingert and Chad dumbass Barrett. GO YOUNG* *not Roy Moore young
I think y'all with your long lists of players in red are delusional. Love you, but you're ********ing delusional. We will make a FEW significant moves in the off-season, if we're lucky. Maybe two of them will be exciting--three if the team is having a seriously stellar year. The rest of the moves will be "meh" like signing Chad Barrett last off-season. The 2017 season was stellar with both Rusnak and Savarino (and Lennon on loan -- what's the status of that?) So I think if you're the FO you're likely to close deals on 2-3 actual upgrades. My priorities would be: 1. Deal with the Yura situation, find another forward to replace him 2. Shore up Kyle's position because Sunny is not enough to really put us at ease for several reasons. Plan to move Kyle into a leadership role in the next year or two. After that it gets more murky for me with several different things being equally important. If the rest of you could only make 2-3 significant moves, what would they be?
Very fair criticism. I don't want to speak for others, but my list of red was a hopeful list. I know some/most of those guys will be back next year. Even with missing the playoffs, the way the season ended will push management to keep this group together more than it (IMO) should be. Still, it's a starting point. There is a lot of wasted space on this roster, IMO, that s/could be upgraded. I want to see this club take the opportunity to go young more seriously. Petke has proven to be a hell of a motivator, give him players that are likely to really respond to that. Stop investing in guys over 30 unless their salary is reasonable.