The clouds, for once, have begun to part, and we're starting to get a clear look at our squad. After Jonny Steele announced his signing with the club last night, we got one step closer to our (roughly) finalized 2012 roster. It would, I think, be of some interest to parse through the squad and discuss briefly some expectations we might have.
So let's get right to that, shall we? Keep in mind that these are only players that are confirmed to have signed contracts with the club. There are more trialists, and I'll address that after. Also note that I'll try to order the players by the generally accepted selection order, but that is clearly up for debate with some players and is yet to be seen with others.
Goalkeepers (3): Nick Rimando, Kyle Reynish, Lalo Fernandez
Central Defenders (3): Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler
Right Backs (1): Tony Beltran
Left Backs (1): Chris Wingert
Defensive Midfielders (2): Kyle Beckerman, Yordany Alvarez
Central (box-to-box) Midfielders (5): Will Johnson, Ned Grabavoy, Jonny Steele, Nico Muniz, Enzo Martinez
Attacking Midfielders (3): Javier Morales, Luis Gil, Sebastian Velasquez
Forwards (4): Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola, Paulo Jr., Cody Arnoux
It's worth noting that some players can play in multiple positions as well. I'd expect Luis Gil to feature more in the box-to-box spots in the diamond, for example. Yordany Alvarez might also feature there in a pinch.
Garth Lagerwey has repeatedly emphasized that we only have 26 roster spots, and that fills 22 of them. Why 26? I've written about this before. I'll find a link. In short, though, it's because there are incentives — greater flexibility with salaries — if managers cut from 30 to 28 and again from 28 to 26.
So, gazing back toward the trialists still at the club, let's go through who we still might sign.
Central Defenders: Leone Cruz, Carlos Salcedo (HG)
Full Backs: Terukazu Tanaka (I), Lance Laing (I), Diogo de Almeida (I)
Forward: Emiliano Bonfigli (I)
There's also a possibility that we'll either sign one of the players we've released. Mike Banner, formerly of Chicago Fire, in particular could get a call back, depending on the status of his jaunt over to Finland — one in which he undoubtedly looked to ply his trade in the Old World. However, the signing of Jonny Steele may have sealed that particular move — it's hard, right now, to say definitively.
It would stand to reason, though, that we only have four more players to sign. Both Cruz and Salcedo present no problem with international slots, but I'd not expect more than one of them. Again, Garth has emphasized that we're looking for four central defenders and four full backs. I don't know whether to expect two of Tanaka, de Almeida and Laing to sign, given that any of the three would seem to fill an international slot.
But given that some of our players have been working toward their green card, perhaps we'll see this sorted out sooner rather than later. I wouldn't, at this point, be surprised to see perhaps two or three signings that spill into the season — and while it would certainly be better to see it sorted out sooner rather than later, it wouldn't be the end of the world. These boys have been in training and will slot in, no matter when they're signed.
As things stand, though, we've filled all six of our international slots: Espindola, Martinez, Morales, Paulo Jr., Saborio and Steele fill 'em up. It's wholly possible that any of these players could have a green card magically appear on their front porch (or perhaps a mail box, I'm not really sure how it works. For shame.) and that we could sign four international players — but as it stands, three spots might be needed for us to put the polish on our roster.
Comments