Well, time to close the book on 2024. The 2023 MLS Cup lost in CONCACAF Champions Cup Finals, did not enter the USOC, won Leagues Cup, lost Campeones Cup on PKs, finished 2nd in the SS stzndings, and were eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. 1 trophy and 2 runner's up. A good season. Won 1 trophy, but think we were capable of more. Really disappointed we were not more aggressive at the deadline. Morris left for Europe. Nagbe won the Audi Goals Drive Progress Award. Moreira won Defender of the Year. Nancy won Coach of the Year. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/darlington-nagbe-receives-2024-audi-goals-drive-progress-impact-award https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/columbus-crew-s-steven-moreira-named-2024-mls-defender-of-the-year https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/c...-named-2024-sigi-schmid-mls-coach-of-the-year For the moment, we are gonna work off last year's roster. With knowing Matan is gone, the team is talking to Bush, and the following option decisions: https://www.dispatch.com/story/spor...er-release-2024-roster-decisions/76611423007/ which are summed up thusly: Out of Contract (2). Matan on way out, declined contract offer & posted farewell. Team in negotiations with Bush. 2. Evan Bush, GK, 37, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA, $89,716, $89,716. Thru '24. Sen El. Options picked up: Schulte, Ramirez, Hagan, Romero, JRR, Jackson. Options declined: Yeboah, Hughes. As far as I know, Hinestroza's loan is over (?) and Mrowka is back. Please correct if I am wrong there. I. Senior Roster (1-20). 16 of 20. Counts vs the salary budget of $5,470,000. Max salary budget charge is $683,750. Teams not required to fill spots 19 & 20. A minimum salary budget charge is imputed vs the club for unfilled spots below 18. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2024-mls-roster-rules-and-regulations Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$, Guar $$ 1. Diego Rossi, WF, 25, 3/5/98, 5'7", 143, DP, GC, Uruguay, $2,675,000, $3,376,827. Thru '26, '27 O. 2. Cucho Hernandez, CF, 24, 4/20/99, 5'9', 161. Colombia, DP,#2, INT#1, $2,600,000, $2,886,000. Thru '25. O in '26. 3. Darlington Nagbe, CM, 33, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, DP#3, $1.4 mil, $1.54 mil. Thru '25. O '26. 4. Steven Moreira, D, 29, 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France/Cape Verde Islands, INT#2, $800k, $882k. Thru '25, O '26. 5. DeJuan Jones, FB/WB, 27, 6/24/97, 5'9", 165, USA, $786,996, $793,246. Thru 2027. 6. Andres Herrera, FB/WB, 25, 11/03/98, 5'10", 165, INT#5, Argentina, $650k, $737,158. 1 yr loan thru summer '25. Contract thru '26. 7. Yevhen Cheberko, CB, 25, 1/23/98, 6'0", 166, Ukraine, INT#6, $505k, $553,250. Thru '26 (June). O for remainder of '26. 8. Rudy Camacho, CB, 32, 3/5/91, 6'1", 174, France, INT#7, $475k, $551k. Thru '25. 9. Christian Ramirez, F, 32, 4/4/91, 6'2", 187, USA, $450k, $495,833. Thru '25. 10. Dylan Chambost, MF, 26, 8/19/97, 5'10", 154, France, INT#3, $375k, $482,219. Thru '26, '27 O. 11. Malte Amundsen, WB, 25, 2/11/98, 5'10", 179, Denmark, $360k, $432,500. Thru '27. Not INT. Green Card? New #'s? 12. Sean Zawadzki, M, 23, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG, $375k, $421,875. Thru '27. 13. Mohamed Farsi, D/M, 23, 12/16/99, 5'10", Canada, INT#9, $350k, $380k, Thru '27, O '28. 14. Derrick Jones, DM/CB, HG, 26, 3/3/97, 6'4", 176, Ghana/USA, $324,996, $362,496. Thru '25, '26 O. 15. Max Arfsten, F/W, 22, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA, $71,401, $73,246. Thru '27. O '28. New extension not reflected. 16. Marino Hinestroza, AM/W, 21, 7/8/02, 5'7", 132, Colombia, U22, INT#4, $500k, $574,750. Thru '26, O '27. Loan to Atletico National in Colombia. Option to buy. ------------------ 17. Open (Hagen) 18. Open (Romero) 19. Open 20. Open ----------------------- II. Supplemental Roster (21-30) (8 of 10) Does NOT count versus the salary budget of any team. All Generation Adidas players are Supplemental Players during the initial guaranteed term of their contract. A. Spots 21-24. (Supplemental). 3 of 4. All players in Slots 21-24 must make a base salary at least equal to the Senior Minimum Salary ($89,716 in 2024). These slots may be filled with: Senior Min players ($89,716) which may include: i) Gen Adidas, ii) designated Superdraft eligible players, or iii) Homegrown players who may or may not earn more than Sen Min due to the HG Subsidy. Players in slots 21-24 must make at least $89,716 Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Patrick Schulte, GK, 22, 3/13/01, 6'5", 200, USA, GA, $125k, $134,978. Thru '25. 22. Nicholas Hagan, GK, 27, 8/2/96, 6'4", 176, Guatemala/USA. $89,716, $100,340. Thru '25, O '26. Senior Eligible. 23. Abraham Romero, GK, 26, 2/18/98, 6'2", 185, USA, $89,716/ditto. Thru '25. 24. Open (Bush). Hagen, & Romero are all Senior Min guys who could be Senior or Supplemental. But we have them Supplemental at the moment. Likely 2 move to Senior to be fully roster compliant/avoid the small fine. --------------------- B. Slots 25-30. (Reserve). 4 of 6. Must be paid a base salary of at least the Reserve Min salary ($71,401). Must be 24 years of age or younger during the league year (by year of birth). May be filled with Reserve Min players ($71,401) which may include GA's earning Reserve Min, HGs, or HG's earning more than Reserve Min via the HG subsidy. Cannot be filled with Sen Min Players (unless a HG earning more via HG subsidy). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Jacen Russell-Rowe, CF, 21, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG, $89,716, $97,105. Thru '25, O '26. 26. Aziel Jackson, MF, 22, 10/25/01, 5'9", 154, USA, HG, $98,261/$102,243. Thru '25. 27. Taha Habroune, M, 17, 2/5/06, 5'8", 168, USA, HG. $71,401, $83,401. Thru '27, O '28. 28. Cole Mrowka, MF, 17, 4/6/06, ??, ??, USA, HG. $71,401, $93,409. Thru '26. TO '27 & '28. -------- 29. Open 30. Open HG subsidy is $125,000 per year in aggregate. Plus $200k of GAM/TAM can be used to sign HGs to their 1st contract. ------------- III. International Players (8 of 8) Hernandez, Moreira, Farsi, Cheberko, Camacho, Chambost, Herrera, Hinestroza. Again, the Amundsen mystery remains. But he firmly is NOT an INT. While on loan, Hinestroza does not count. But Herrera does. Assuming he is back at this point. New verbiage for 2024, do NOT need a Green Card. "For a player to be considered a Domestic Player in the applicable season, residency must be established, or the player has to have appeared for an immigrant visa interview by the opening of the Secondary Transfer Window." https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-...new-sporting-initiatives-ahead-of-2024-season ------------ IV. Green Card Holders/Counts as Domestic (3). Rossi (Green Card). JRR (International HG Rule). Hagan (USA parent/ passport). Amundsen does not count as an INT for reasons I do not understand. But he does not have a GC either as far as I know. I could be wrong about that. ------------ V. DP + U22 Initiative Slots (4 of 6) Team can choose 2 paths. One, 3 DPs + 3 U22s. Two, 2 DPs plus 4 U22s + $2 mil in GAM. Teams must decide by the close of the transfer window this year and start of the year going forward. DPs = 3 of 3 1. Rossi 2. Cucho 3. Nagbe U22s = 1 of 3 1. Open (Hinestroza, loan done?) 2. Open 3. Open U22 players count $200k vs the budget if the are aged 22-25. $150k is 21 or younger. U22 players must be on their initial MLS contract unless they are HGs (2nd), and must sign it before turning 22. Can continue to occupy the slot until the year they turn 25. Salary cannot exceed Max Budget unless it is a HG/Superdraft on 2nd contract, who can earn Max Budget +$200k. Clubs may pay acquisition costs without limit (out of pocket, no GAM/TAM). Crew choose 3+3 path for 2024. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-announces-significant-roster-rule-changes -------------- Rushed. Will get to Expansion stuff soon. I am sure I made some mistakes.
Will Nagbe at 1.4-1.54 M still be a DP? I’ll assume yes. We should buy him down or Give him a new contract just under DP level. Great player and we still need him but he needs us to get him a adequate partner to pair with him and Zawadzki is fine as a back up (still think CB is best for him long term) but we need more back up CMs. Nagbe is not the same player he was in 2023 season. We need to limit his minutes so he will be more effective late in the season for the 25 playoffs. Isa Tall may not be able to find a quality starter till Summer but we need to add at least one CM this winter. In that interview he did admit CM needs addressed. CB we need to find the next guy and phase Camacho out. Camacho also played too many minutes which you could see in playoffs he was worn out. So it’s the exact same situation at CB & CM. Add a CB this winter and hopefully find the future starter this Summer.
When are protected lists due? 10th, I believe. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2024-mls-expansion-draft-rules-procedures GA's in spots 21-24, and HGs 25 and under are auto protected (Schulte being the former, JRR, Jackson, Habroune, and Mrowka, and Hughes, the latter). Unsure if Zawadzki counts as HG after the extension. No mention of players on loan from outside. We have to protect at least 3 INT players, but that should be easy. Certainly auto-protected (6): Schulte, JRR, Jackson, Habroune, Mrowka, Hughes. Possibly also protected (2): Zawadzki (HG), and Herrera (loaned in). Surely protected (6): Cucho (INT), Rossi, Nagbe, Moreira (INT#2), DeJuan Jones, Farsi (INT#3). Almost assuredly protected (3): Amundsen, Arfsten, Cheberko (INT#4). Almost assuredly NOT protected (7): Matan, Yeboah, Hagen, Bush, Romero, Hinestroza, Hughes. What is left for 3 protected spots: #10: Zawadzki (if necessary, no-brainer) ------------ #11: Chambost #12: Ramirez -------------- #13: Camacho --------- #14: Herrera (if necessary) --------- #15: Derrick Jones I see no scenario where I would not protect Zawadzki if I have to. And no scenario where I protect Jones. I'd prefer to keep Ramirez over Camacho, as he is still a productive spot starter/sub. And I want to keep Chambost over either for FKs and CM/artacking versatility and being younger. The Camacho vs Herrera call is a coin flip for me, if I have to make it. In a perfect world, Zawadzki & Herrera are auto-protected and I can therefore keep Chambost, Ramirez, and Camacho safe.
I'm almost positive that Zawadzki will be exempt from the draft. Both in May and September, when MLS released those detailed PDFs of all club roster profiles, he was listed as having a "Homegrown Player" Roster Designation, occupying a senior roster spot. This all reflects his new contract, which was signed in Feb. '24. His higher salary meant that he could no longer be a supplemental roster player, but the public roster rules say nothing about Homegrown status expiring with a second contract or that there's a salary ceiling. The expansion draft rules say this: Sean is 24 (turns 25 in April). My guess is that Herrera is draft eligible, since his loan agreement runs through June 2025. I wouldn't protect him. I doubt that a guy who takes up an int'l slot and whose loan deal is about to expire would be very tempting. Clubs can now protect 12 players. I think it used to be 10, right? For reasons do not understand, Jackson never seems to have been listed as being a Homegrown player for the Crew. He's not listed as being one on the club's website roster, and he doesn't have that status on the league's PDF Roster Profile document from September. He does show as being Homegrown on the PDF that was released in May, when he was with St. Louis. It's exactly what you see happening if you look up Will Sands. We shipped him off to the Revs in June. In that May Roster Profile PDF, he's on our roster under a "Homegrown Player" designation. In the Sept. PDF, he's on the Revs roster, but with no Homegrown status. Maybe when a player is traded from his original homegrown team to a second club he can retain his Homegrown status, but if he's traded again it expires? Who knows. But I kinda doubt that Jackson has Homegrown status with the Crew. Here would be my 12 1. Amundsen 2. Arfsten 3, Cherberko 4. Farsi 5. Cucho 6. Jackson 7. Dejuan Jones 8. Moreira 9. Nagbe 10. Rossi 11. Chambost 12. Ramirez Exposed would be: Matan Romero Bush Camacho Hagen Herrera Hinestroza Derrick Jones
He's not listed as a HG in the latest profile release. But HG rights transfer as we've see with Rowe, Etienne, and Sands. There could be some unknown limit on how many times the HG rights transfer. He's been traded 3 times. RB -> Minnesota -> CITY -> Crew.
And, as I noted, Sands no longer appears as a Homegrown with New England. He and Jackson both did back in May, when the league first released those roster profiles, when Sands was still with the Crew and Jackson was with St. Louis. But in the September release - after both players had been traded again - that designation had been removed. By the way, the rules that govern Homegrown status are subject to change, and appear not to require buy-in by the MLSPA unless it's specifically spelled out in the CBA that they have those rights. Here's Article 23 from the CBA: Earlier in the document, "Homegrown Player" is defined thuily: So, in essence, the definition of a Homegrown player is what the league says it is, and that can change whenever the league desires. Or, if you want to wade through some thick legalese, read through this paragraph (emphasis added): There's a reason why Bez's law degree served him well in MLS. One would expect that the union hopes that, in the next CBA, that list of items that the league can decide entirely on its own gets whittled down a bit. I don't see any technical Homegrown status definition in the entire CBA. Though it's a 100 page document, so I suppose I might be missing it somewhere. In any event, it's probably changed from what it was in 2020. And, yes, it wouldn't shock me if the league has placed some sort of limit on just how long "Homegrown" status stays with a player who's been traded multiple times.
Protected in order : 1 Cucho 2 Rossi 3 Nagbe 4 Moreira 5 DeJuan Jones 6 Amundsen 7 Cheberko 8 Farsi 9 Arfsten 10 Herrera ( Auto protected ?) 11 Jackson 12 Chambost Cutoff 13 Ramírez 14 Camacho Exposed would be: Yeboah Mățan Ramírez Romero Bush Camacho Hagen Hinestroza Derrick Jones On the cutoff decision Pros : We need Ramírez & Camacho on the bench for depth. Very thin at CB and Christian is the perfect offensive sub when you need a goal he is clutch. Cons: they can’t play heavy minutes, are slow which kills attacks and leaves us exposed in transition. At some point you have to get younger guys who can run and play the way you want to play. They can only take one person , not sure what younger player you would expose for these 2. Hopefully Herrera is protected which would mean we can protect Ramírez.
Why is herrara auto protected? There might be a mandatory protection clause in his loan agreement but that doesn't mean his spot is free
I predict either Ramirez or Camacho will be selected. We will need to move on from Camacho and need to find a replacement forthwith. But I sure would hate to lose Ramirez.
I’m assuming he is not protected , but MLS rules don’t always make sense so it’s possible he is exempt.
The thinking would be he is not under contract with the club/league, so thus not eligible to be drafted. I do think Jackson is still a HG, like JRR.
But in the expansion draft you are drafting the rights of the players and their contracts if they exist. And Herrara is under contract with us til June. In loan agreements, you have a loan agreement with the club and a contract with the player. Austin drafted a player who was OOC but not an FA. They were stupid and forgot to pick up the previously declined option and let him go in the reentry draft. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/joe-corona-talks-being-drafted-austin-and-signing-houston-dynamo SD could take Matan or Hinestroza's rights. The latter of which could cost the club 2.5 million if SD selects him and gets the transfer fee from the option to buy. So don't be surprised to see him on our protected list.
Theres a half day trade window that opened this morning, and of course closes this afternoon ahead of the expansion draft on Wednesday. I could be wrong of course, but I dont expect much action. Back in the day, when there were 12ish teams, multiple teams joining in one offseason, very little or no international scouting or spending, then we probably wouldve seen some big shakeups around this time. Similar to how the Superdraft used to be the big offseason event. Times have definitely changed.
https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/c...-allocation-money-via-trade-with-san-diego-fc TRANSACTION: Columbus Crew acquire $100,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money from San Diego FC in exchange for a 2025 International Roster Slot.
I don’t like selling this roster spot and it’s definitely light so it better get attached to some kinda only take the guys we don’t want kinda deal
Why? I like it all kinds of ways: 1) Especially if it guarantees we don't lose anyone we wanted to keep. 2) We need INT spots if we want to add. 3) Hopefully it indicates adding an INT at CB/CM/attack.
Oops, my bad. I had that the other way. Yep, I do not like that at all. Though I guess if we get one back gor 100k later, it is a wash. But it does not signal aggressive player acwuisition mode.