At right back I think Cannon gets the nod over Rosenberry, otherwise the positions I'm confident enough to predict I've fairly confident on. So lets talk about those wholes we need to fill:
Left Back: Is there a MLS quality starting left back that can be cobbled together from Vines. Travis. Rosenberry, Cannon, and Anderson should he re-sign? (Reports are that Tallares have exercised their option to buy Miguel Navarro). If not we need to go find one, again. My feeling is that the Front Office doesn't want to put any more money into the position right now and will hope that Vines returns to something near his old form or that Travis can step-up to an every game starter next season.
Center Back: Smith and/or Taylor have already been quoted as saying this is an area of focus this offseason, and it needs to be. Not only do we need to find a quality starter to pair with Maxso (that person isn't on the roster yet) we need to find a dependable backup. Maybe that's re-signing Abubakar.
Left-Wing: Another must have this offseason, though it hasn't been mentioned as much by leadership as center back has been. I think Cabral was showing that he can be a starter in this league before he got hurt (he's still overpaid as a DP, but at least we're splitting that with the Galaxy) but neither Harris or Fernandez (or Lewis if he re-signs) claimed the other spot. If we're going to make a big splash this offseason I want to see it at this position. Djordje and Navarro need some other threat to take the pressure off of them, we saw how they struggled when both Cabral and Bassett were injured at the end of the season.
Bench: We need at least 3 solid bench options down the spine of the team. As mentioned earlier we need more center back depth behind whomever we sign to fill the starting hole. I still believe we need a true defensive 6 as an option off the bench for when the matchup dictates it. There were a number of games last season that Larraz and Ronan (and sometimes Bassett) just got run over due to the lack of bite in midfield and we had nobody to plug in to handle that scenario. Lastly we need a true backup to Navarro. Yapi is not a quality backup for him. He's the guy you bring off the bench to run at tired defenses, not the guy who steps in when Navarro isn't available or needs a game off.
With the backup at left-back, many of whom can also play right-back, and the winger options already on the roster we should have enough depth on the outside if the staring holes are filled.
So that means we're looking for 5 acquisitions:
- Starting CB
- Starting winger
- Backup CB
- Quasi-starting/backup 6
- Backup striker
With Bamdre being released we probably will sign a 3rd GK too, either directly to the first team or somebody who can be called up to Rapids 2, but not somebody I would expect to have any impact on the first team in 2025.
Next week is the trade window, the expansion draft, and the waiver and first round of the re-entry drat. Keep an eye out to see if the Rapids make any moves to fill these holes.
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