I think the FO would more than welcome the competent articles that she has produced since taking on the assignment. She's written more quality articles this week than the last 2 guys produced during their entire tenures.
OK, fresh update after Bailey's Green Card revelations (Diaz has one!). This makes keeping Luis around for his speed is not nearly as big of a deal, as he does not count as an INT player. Nor is the Vallecilla signing a big dent to future moves, as we still have an open spot left. But I gotta say I am with Bill on his on the field prospects. He was a part of the worst MLS D I have ever seen in Cincy, and they moved him to Colorado, where after limited appearances, he ensconced himself with Rapids II. I. Senior Roster (1-20). 17 of 20. Salary Cap = $5,210,000. Don't have to use spots 19, 20. Min Budget charged imputed to cap if use less than 18. Max budget charge is $651,250. GAM per team for 2023 is $1,900,000 (+ $$ for transfers, NQ PO, CCL, expansion, DP distr). Discretionary TAM = $2,720,000. Total available spend = $9,830,000. If there is only one number, the player has the same value for Base and Guaranteed money. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2023-mls-roster-rules-and-regulations Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 1. Zelarayan, M, 30, 6/20/92, 5'8", 154, Argentina/Armenia, DP, INT#1, $3.1 mil/$3.7 mil. Thru '24, '25 O. 2. Hernandez (Cucho), CF, 23, 4/20/99, 5'9', 161. Colombia, YDP, INT#2, $2.6 mil/$2,886,000. Thru '25. 3. Nagbe, CM, 32, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, DP, $1,760,000/ditto. 4. Room, GK, 33, 2/6/89, 6'3", 179, Curacao/NED, GC, $800k/$883k ('24 O). 5. Degenek, D, 28, 4/28/94, 6'1", 182, Australia/Croatia, INT#3, $715k/$812k. Th '23, O '25 6. Molino, M, 32, 6/17/90, 5'11", 145, Trinidad & Tobago, GC, $700,348/ditto. 7. Yeboah, M, 25, 3/28/97, 5'9", Ghana, INT#4, $600k/$663,000. Th '24, O '25. (MLS U22?) 8. Moreira, D, 28, 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France, INT#5, $550k/$632,708. 9. Matan, M, 23, 8/29/99, 5'5", 135, Romania, INT#6, U22, $425k/$458,250. 10. Diaz, M, 24, 12/6/98, 5'11", 159, Costa Rica, INT#7, $375k/$408,900. 11. Williams, D, 34, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $325k/$325k 12. Medranda, LB, 28, 2/7/94, 5'5", 152, Colombia/USA, $???/$???, O in '24. 13. Ramirez, F, 31, 4/4/91, 6'2", 187, USA, $???/$???, thru '24, '25 O. 14. Vallecilla, D, 23, 5/28/99, 6'1", 179, Ecuador, INT#8, $???, loan '23, option to buy. 15. Bush, GK, 36, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA, $84k/$84k, (thru '23). 16. Scott, GK, 23, 6/30/99, 6'2", 174, USA, $84k/$84k. Thru '23. O '24. 17. Quinton, D, 23, 11/16/99, 6'6", 205, USA, $???/$???. Thru '23. O's thru '26. 18. Open ----------------- 19. Open 20. Open ----------------------- MLS/Crew.com both list Scott and not Bush as a Senior Roster player. Both are senior min players ($84k) and any could be either Senior or Supplemental 21-24. I put both Senior since we don't have room on the Supplemental. Quinton is listed as Senior & I do not have salary info that would dispute that. So there he stays. Also, MLS lists Farsi as a Senior player. But his listed salary ($65.5k) is below Senior Min. Accordingly, I have him down further. -------------------- II. Supplemental Roster (21-30) (10 of 10) Do not count towards salary cap. Max of 10 players, subject to Season Ending Injured List, Injured List, and Loan Exceptions. All Generation adidas players are Supplemental for their initial contract. A. Spots 21-24. (Supplemental). 4 of 4. Must earn at least the Senior Min salary of $85,444. Can be: a) Senior Min players, b) Generation Adidas players, c) designated Super draft eligible players, or d) HGs/HGs earning more than the Sen Min subject to HG Player Subsidy (up to $125k more than Senior Min salary of $85,444.) Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21.Schulte, GK, 21, 3/13/01, 6'5", 200, USA, GA, $84k/$96,431 22. A. Morris, M, 21, 11/16/01, 5'10", 158, USA, HG, $170k/$172k. 23. Sands, D/M, 22, 7/6/00, 5'10",150, USA, HG, $84k/$90,250. Th '23. O in '24. 24. Arfsten, F/W, 21, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA, $???/$???. Thru '23. O's in '24 & '25. ----------------------- Schulte was both Super draft eligible and GA. I put A. Morris up here for now, though based on his HG status, he could be lower. Why? Well, the six other guys who fill the remainder of the roster are all either HGs who make less (Sands, Russell-Rowe, Zawadzki, Parente, Hughes) on non-GAs who are under $84k minimum Supp salary (Farsi, J. Morris). One of Bush/Scott could be here. As could Quinton. But no room at the moment unless we put a HG needlessly on Senior. ----------------------------- B. Slots 25-28. (Reserve). 4 of 4. Must make at least the Reserve Min salary of $67,360. Can be: a) Reserve Min Players (24 or younger during league year), b) Homegrown Players earning more than $125k above Reserve Min subject to HG Player subsidy, or C) GA players earning the Res Min Salary of $67,360. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Russell-Rowe, CF, 20, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG, $65,500/$72,866. Tr '24, O '25-'6. 26. Farsi, D/M, 23, 12/16/99, 5'10", Canada, INT#9, $65,500/$75,333, Th '23, O '24, '25. 27. Zawadzki, M, 22, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG, $84k/$89k. Th '23/O '24, '25. 28. J. Morris, D/M, 23, 3/3/99, 6'1/", 161, USA, HG?, $65,500/$65,500. Th '23, O '24, '25. ------------------------ JRR counts as a domestic player, like Fraser did, via HG rule, even though he is Canadian. MLS/Crew list him as a 21-24 guy, but I think this is wrong, his salary, like Farsi's, is too low to be a spot 21-24 guy. Some media repoted J. Morris as a HG 'priority' when we got him. But if MLS are correct & J. Morris is NOT a HG, he has to be 25-28 due to his salary/non-HG status. Only player here who COULD be higher is Zawadzki, as he makes the Sen Min. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/columbus-crew-acquire-jake-morris-in-trade-with-seattle-sounders ---------------------------------- C. Slots 29-30. (Homegrown Reserve). Must be filled with HGs earning the Reserve Min salary or HGs earning more than the Reserve Min ($67,360) subject to HG Player Subsidy. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 29. Parente, M, 22, 3/16/00, 5'9", USA, HG, $66,724/$70,724. 30. Hughes, D, 22, 7/22/00, 6'3", 190, USA, HG, $???/$???, Thr '24, O thr '26. --------------- I put our 2 HGs who seem to be lowest on the totem pole here. Though for all intents & purposes, A. Morris, Sands, JRR, Zawadzki, Parente, and Hughes are interchangeable. ------- III. Green Card Holders (3). Room, Molino, Diaz. ------------ IV. International Players (8 of 9) Zelarayan, Hernandez, Degenek, Moreira, Matan, Farsi, Yeboah, Vallecilla. JRR is a HG and counts as domestic even though he is Canadian. MLS.com is a mess here. They count Medranda as an INT even though he got a Green Card in 2017. And became a US citizen in 2022. Moreira has NEVER counted as a INT, though he is obviously French. They do not count Diaz. https://www.sportingkc.com/news/ger...en-cards-no-longer-occupy-international-spots https://www.thebluetestament.com/20...lines-medranda-becomes-us-citizen-sporting-kc We did acquire an extra spot this year, so 9 is correct. --------- I am sure there is an error in there somewhere, let me know if you find one. MLS Salary info is still 2022, will update when get new info.
Molino & Yeboah make to much money to contribute next to nothing If anyone is desperate enough to trade at any point you have to immediately get rid of these 2 guys. I can’t wait for the summer window and some roster movement
If Yeboah can be a serviceable left wingback, I’ll take it. We still need more, but it’s a lot better than what we got from him last year, which beyond the first two games of the season was absolutely nothing.
Honestly, Yeboah and Quinton both should not be starters for the team. Quinton I can see as a squad rotational player but for a team that has ambition he is not ready. Yeboah has zero offense to his game. He is a negative on the field.
It's both about competing now and growing for the future. I agree with you at this point about Yeboah. We've seen enough that he's not a wing back in this system. His defense is not good enough and his offense hasn't seemed to find a groove. He's had his chance and we're paying him like a finished product. He should be on his way out of the lineup and the team, IMHO. On Quinton, he's a valuable asset in my mind. He costs us nothing or close to nothing on the cap. I'd say that he has looked raw but not out of his depth. These minutes he's getting right now are invaluable toward making him an MLS average starting CB. His value comes by way of not paying at an MLS average level. I'll take the growing pains, understanding that this is a long term project. I can see him remaining a starter at LCB until Vallecilla is ready and then moving to Crew 2 and starting in the middle. Next year we can dump Degenek and have a MLS experienced low paid guy to be the CB in our back 3.
Degenek isn't getting dumped - not unless we sign a replacement - it ain't Quniton next year nor Vallecilla. Also I don't think Quniton plays much Crew2 even when Vellecilla is available. Quinton had a rough game this week. he has been pretty solid up to that point. He's definitely looking every bit the rookie he is. It's tough spot - you want to develop for future so he needs as many minutes as we can give him. But we can't have him being a liability on field either. I'm going to stay patient with him for another couple of games. I want to see progress with higher comfort level and decision making. Yeboah does nothing for me. I barely notice when he is playing. We need someone who puts pressure on opponents, he doesn't. Can't imagine he'll be here much longer. Be great if we can get something for him. I'll take $5 Gaberbucks and 6 pack of beer - anything.
Literally half of our current match day squad is made up of former Crew 2 players. Quinton might go down for a game or two, but he’s staying with the first team at this point.
As was obvious last season, due to the roster rules, it’s easy for first teamers to play in Next Pro. A lot more difficult for Next Pro guys to play in MLS. Quinton is on an MLS contract. So if someone else steps up and takes over his startling role and Nancy wants Quinton to get minutes, it would be easy for him to do so with a Crew 2. Regardless, he’ll remain a first team MLS player. I really don’t know much about the status of the Crew 2 roster right now. What’s online is from last season and terribly out of date. I’d be curious if there’s another CB in the pipeline who’d be losing playing time if Quinton logs minutes in Next Pro.
Vallecilla is cheap depth he will need to beat out Q. Q if he doesn’t start will be on the bench. We don’t have CB depth to move anyone down to Crew2 anytime soon Hope Q develops , V well i hope he is used sparingly because if we do like him I don’t think we have any intentions of buying him for 700k or Bez is dumber than i thought or somehow he lights it up and becomes a MLS all star
I think it will technically still be possible for Quinton to make the matchday roster for the senior club, sit his ass on the bench all/most of the game, and still play for Crew 2 the next day. Obviously, that could only happen if Crew/Crew 2 are playing in the same city, and we don’t have the Next Pro schedule yet. But if I read the roster rules correctly, the Crew would just need to add him to the Crew 2 roster by 8pm of the day preceding their Next Pro match. Anyway, while it’s possible (I think), I agree with you until the team signs some more defenders (and not just defenders), Quinton is almost guaranteed to make the senior matchday roster.
Why do we think Vallecillas would be ahead of Quinton at this point? My guess is Nancy keeps playing Quinton.
I am not assuming anything. Quinton is a project more than a finished product at this point. I think most agree on that. I'm happy to let him continue to develop in the first team. I also think with his build that he's more suited to the central spot long term rather than LCB. I don't think he's going to displace Degenek right now. Long term I see the benefit of having Quinton play first team ball at LCB until Crew 2 starts up and then letting him anchor the defense in the middle for The Cappys while making a lot of game day rosters for the first team. Bottom line is that a project needs to play. I'm happy if that is with the first team or Crew 2. Just get him out there.
I would also agree with this with two caveats. 1. He wasn't playing next to Degenek. I don't think he is a great one v one defender and isn't big plus when it comes to passing. Quinton needs a Mensah like figure next to him. 2. The player who is playing in front of him in the wide position has basically been invisible for 3 games. It would be helpful if he had a player with more ability to take the pressure off of him or help him out of the jams he finds himself in. Overall, I would prefer he jut have a better support network to be develop within.
At least he won’t score goals for someone else. That’s gotta be worth a draw somewhere down the line. Our roster is ********ed.
He'll probably go 90 minutes for T&T in Nations League before he gets any meaningful minutes for the Crew this year. What a disaster his contract has been for us. Oddly, it's way down the list of things I blame Bez for. It was a calculated risk that failed miserably. Sadly, everything that could go wrong has. Now we've gotten 3 years of bench warming from a max salary/TAM guy, the exact kind of guy expected to be a major contributor. $2M in salary cap space tied up in guys who either haven't played (Molino, Diaz, Williams) or haven't played well (Yeboah).
That's ********ing hilarious. Seriously. Sometimes you reap what you sew. Worse yet, the Crew had a year or two to rid itself of this disasterous signing and they just were too dumb (or cheap) to do it. You're doing a heck of a job, Bezzie.
Not that it matters, but when has 6 -8 weeks ever ended up being less than six. months with this team. The Crew probably has at least as much money blown on surgery and rehab as his contract has cost. .olino has been nothing but a huge money suck, and thus is the final death toll. Buy him the hell out for God's sake and be done with it. Then, as noted above, he can go play for T&T which is all.he gives a shit about anyway. Quit trying to salvage sunk cost. It's gone, it was wasted and it's time to cut bait. Does anyone else remember the guy from T&T who came around here for a week or two babbling on about what a terrific signing he was and how he'd lead us to multiple cups? Haven't heard from him lately.