Tim Parker, right.
NYCFC.
Offseason in a nutshell ... The big
loss, obviously, is David Villa, the heart and soul of NYCFC in its first four seasons, but it is not the only one ... When healthy, Yangel Herrera, on loan the last two seasons from
Manchester City, was a force in midfield, but he likely won't be back in 2019 ... A possible midfield replacement (per MLSSoccer.com's Sam Stejskal) is 21-year-old Texan Keaton Parks on loan from
Benfica, where he dropped to its second division team this season.
2019 Roster (21 players):
Goalkeeper (3): Jeff
Caldwell, Sean Johnson, Brad Stuver.
Defender (8): Alex Callens, Maxime Chanot, Cedric Hountondji, Sebastien Ibeagha, Ronald Matarrita, Joe Scally, Ben Sweat, Anton Tinnerholm.
Midfielders (6): Daniel Bedoya, Jesus Medina, Maxi Moralez, Alex Ring, Tony Rocha (Orlando City), James Sands.
Forwards (4): Jo Inge Berget, Valentin Castellanos,
Jonathan Lewis, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi.
Columbus.
Offseason in a nutshell
... The Crew was saved, but Gregg Berhalter's move to the U.S. national team left the team's new owners scrambling to fill not one but two jobs: head coach and sporting
director ... New president Tim Bezbatchenko was brought in from Toronto FC to oversee both the business and soccer sides of the club, and former Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter will
be the head coach. Both will be introduced on Wednesday ... Zack Steffen, the 2018 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, was sold to Manchester City, but he won't leave until July.
2019 Roster (24 players):
Goalkeepers (4): Joe Bendik (Orlando City), Jon Kempin, Ben Lundgaard, Zack Steffen.
Defenders
(8): Lalas Abubakar, Harrison Afful, Alex Crognale, Connor Maloney, Jonathan Mensah, Gaston Sauro, Milton Valenzuela, Josh Williams.
Midfielders (10): Luis Argudo, Artur, Niko Hansen,
Federico Higuain, Hector Jimenez, Justin Meram, Edward Opoku, Pedro Santos, Eduardo Sosa, Wil Trapp.
Forwards (2): Patrick Mullins, Gyasi Zardes.
D.C. United.
Offseason in a nutshell ... A new owner and new stadium from the start of
the year mean new ambition for a team that went undefeated over its last 10 games of the 2018 regular season ... The signing of Lucas Rodriguez on loan from Argentina's Estudiantes reflects
that ambition ... His acquisition will likely allow Coach Ben Olsen to move winger Paul Arriola to right back.
2019 Roster
(17 players):
Goalkeepers (3): Earl Edwards Jr. (Orlando City), Bill Hamid, David Ousted.
Defenders (5): Steven Birnbaum, Frederic Brillant, Joseph Mora,
Chris Odoi-Atsem, Jalen Robinson.
Midfielders (8): Luciano Acosta, Paul Arriola, Russell Canouse, Chris Durkin, Junior Moreno, Lucas Rodriguez (Estudiantes/ARG), Ulises Segura,
Zoltan Stieber.
Forward (1): Wayne Rooney.
Philadelphia.
Offseason in a nutshell ... The is Ernst Tanner's team now. The German arrived from Red Bull Salzburg to replace Earnie Stewart as sporting director, but he
didn't come until August, too late to have any meaningful impact on the team in 2018 ... He's already brought in Brazilian striker Sergio Santos for the 2019 season and is hoping to soon
finalize a deal for a midfielder to replace 2018 MLS assist leader Borek Dockal, whose loan deal with China's Henan Jianye expired ... Like Stewart, Tanner believes in the Union's kiddie corps.
Keegan Rosenberry was traded to Colorado, opening the door for 19-year-old Olivier Mbaizo from Bethlehem Steel to get first shot at right back. The player to watch: 18-year-old HG
signing Brenden Aaronson.
2019 Roster (21 players):
Goalkeepers (2): Andre Blake, *Matt Freese
(Harvard Univ.).
Defenders (6): Jack Elliott, Fabinho, Olivier Mbaizo, Mark McKenzie, Matt Real, Auston Trusty.
Midfielders (9): *Brenden Aaronson (academy), David
Accam, Alejandro Bedoya, Warren Creavalle, Ilsinho, Anthony Fontana, Derrick Jones, Haris Medunjanin, Fafa Picault.
Forwards (4): Cory Burke, Sergio Santos (Audax Italiano/CHI),
Kacper Przybylko, CJ Sapong.
*2019 Homegrown signing.
Montreal.
Offseason in a nutshell ... The Impact's strong finish -- 11-6-4 over the last 21 games -- convinced first-year coach Remi Garde to keep much of the team intact. Evan
Bush, one of the most underrated goalkeepers in MLS, was rewarded with a new contract, and veteran Frenchman Bacary Sagna was re-signed for 2019 ... Garde's goals for the offseason were to
find a striker to take some of the scoring load off Ignacio Piatti -- Maxi Urruti, acquired from FC Dallas, is a start -- and a playmaker ... The sale of Uruguayan Alejandro Silva
to Paraguay's Olimpia creates a hole in attack, but the transfer fee couldn't be beat: just over $3 million, a club record.
2019 Roster
(24 players):
Goalkeepers (4): Jason Beaulieu, Evan Bush, Clement Diop, James Pantemis.
Defenders (8): Victor Cabrera, Rudy Camacho, Zakaria Diallo,
*Daniel Kinumbe (academy), Daniel Lovitz, Michael Petrasso, Jukka Raitala, Bacary Sagna.
Midfielders (9): Michael Azira, *Clement Bayiha (academy), Mathieu Choiniere, Ken
Krolicki, Ignacio Piatti, Samuel Piette, Shamit Shome, Saphir Taider, Jeisson Vargas.
Forwards (3): Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Harry Novillo (Johor Darul Ta'zim/MAS), Maxi
Urruti (FC Dallas).
*2019 Homegrown signing.
New England.
Offseason in a nutshell ... Colombian striker Juan Fernando Caicedo was the first of three or four maximum-salary players the Revs hope to sign ... Edgar Castillo
arrived in a three-team deal and will take over at left back ... Juan Agudelo was re-signed, but two other holdovers from the Revs' 2014 MLS Cup team are gone. Kelyn Rowe was traded to
Sporting KC in the Castillo deal, while Chris Tierney retired.
2019 Roster (22 players):
Goalkeepers (3):
Cody Cropper, Brad Knighton, Matt Turner.
Defenders (7): Jalil Anibaba, Brandon Bye, Edgar Castillo (Colorado), Antonio Delamea, Andrew Farrell, Michael Mancienne, Gabriel Somi.
Midfielders (7): Isaac Angking, Luis Caicedo, Scott Caldwell, Diego Fagundez, *Nicolas Firmino (academy), Zachary Herivaux, Wilfried Zahibo.
Forwards (5): Juan Agudelo,
Teal Bunbury, Juan Fernando Caicedo (Inde. Medellin/COL on loan), Cristian Penilla, Brian Wright.
*2019 Homegrown signing.
Photo: Juan Fernando Caicedo, right
(Reuters)
Toronto FC.
Offseason in a nutshell ... Bezbatchenko's move to his hometown,
Columbus, opened the door for Ali Curtis to return to MLS as TFC general manager ... Deals to bring in Laurent Ciman and Nick DeLeon left TFC in good shape to rebound after its
2018 collapse ... Curtis will have a lot on his plate, though. TFC's three stars -- Designated Players Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore -- are all in the
final year of their contracts.
2019 Roster (25 players):
Goalkeepers (2): Alex Bono, Caleb
Patterson-Sewell.
Defenders (11): Auro, Laurent Ciman (Dijon/FRA), Nick DeLeon (D.C. United), Julian Dunn, Nick Hagglund, Chris Mavinga, Drew Moor, Ashtone Morgan,
Justin Morrow, Gregory van der Wiel, Eriq Zavaleta.
Midfielders (8): Michael Bradley, Jay Chapman, Aidan Daniels, Marky Delgado, Liam Fraser, Jonathan Osorio, Ryan Telfer, Victor
Vazquez.
Forwards (4): Ayo Akinola, Jozy Altidore, Jon Bakero, Sebastian Giovinco.
Chicago.
Offseason in a nutshell ... Veljko Paunovic, whose contract ran out at the end of the year, was re-signed to a multi-year contract (two
years plus an option for a third) ... Also back will be Bastian Schweinsteiger, who will return for a third season ... The Fire is counting on Brazilian Marcelo to provide stability that
was lacking in the middle of the backline in 2018.
2019 Roster (18 players):
Goalkeepers (2): Stefan Cleveland,
Richard Sanchez.
Defender (4): Jorge Corrales, Nicolas Del Grecco, Grant Lillard, Marcelo (Sporting/POR).
Midfielders (9): Mo Adams, Brandt Bronico, Diego Campos,
Raheem Edwards, Nicolas Hasler, Aleksandar Katai, Dax McCarty, Djordje Mihailovic, Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Forwards (3): Elliot Collier, Fabian Herbers (Philadelphia), Nemanja
Nikolic.
Waiver Draft: Cristian Martinez (Columbus), Marco Urena (LAFC).
Orlando City.
Offseason in a nutshell ... A serious makeover after the 2017 season left the Lions with a bloated roster when the changes didn't pan out ... Luiz Muzzi
was brought in from FC Dallas as executive vice president of soccer operations to replace Niki Budalic and says he wants to make Orlando City younger, using the FC Dallas model of building
around Homegrown talent. That's easier said than done ... In the meantime, the sale of Peruvian World Cup midfielder Yoshi Yotun to Cruz Azul for a fee of $4 million gives Muzzi some extra
funds to find help, which is needed throughout the lineup.
2019 Roster (24 players):
Goalkeepers (3): Adam
Grinwis, Greg Ranjitsingh (Orlando City), Mason Stajduhar.
Defenders (7): Danilo Acosta (Real Salt Lake, on loan), RJ Allen, Carlos Ascues, Joao Moutinho (LAFC),
Shane O'Neill, Lamine Sane, Kyle Smith (Orlando City).
Midfielders (9): Josue Colman, Pierre Da Silva, Cristian Higuita, Will Johnson, Sacha Kljestan, Cam Lindley, Sebas
Mendez (Independiente del Valle/ECU), Dillon Powers, Uri Rosell.
Forwards (5): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Dom Dwyer, *Benji Michel (Univ. of Portland), Chris Mueller,
Stefano Pinho.
*2019 Homegrown signing.
FC Cincinnati.
Offseason
in a nutshell ... After winning the 2018 USL regular-season title, FC Cincinnati is convinced it can be competitive with a nucleus of holdovers (11 in all) ... As the lineup is shaping up,
though, most of Coach Alan Koch's first choices will likely be offseason acquisitions ... In quick succession, FC Cincinnati made moves to assemble a competent backline with outside backs Garza
and Alvas Powell (both former MLS champions), Frenchman Mathieu Deplagne and two-time Best XI pick Kendall Waston.
2019 Roster (21):
Goalkeepers (2): Spencer Richey (Vancouver), Przemyslaw Tyton (Dep. Coruna/ESP).
Defender (8): Mathieu Deplagne
(Troyes/FRA), Greg Garza (Atlanta United), Justin Hoyte, Forrest Lasso, Hassan Ndam (NY Red Bulls), Alvas Powell (Portland), Blake Smith, Kendall Waston (Vancouver)
Midfielders (8): Fatai Alashe, Nazmi Albadawi, Eric Alexander (Houston), Leonardo Bertone (Young Boys/SUI), Corben Bone, Emmanuel Ledesma, Jimmy McLaughlin, Victor
Ulloa (FC Dallas).
Forwards (3): Fanendo Adi, Darren Mattocks (D.C. United), Emery Welshman.
Photo: Greg Garza, foreground.