Roster Deep Dive - Vol. 1
Columbus Crew
Building and maintaining an MLS roster is complex. Success is difficult to measure, but analyzing past and current roster builds provides teams with a chance to use hindsight and recognize patterns. Applying the MLS’ roster rules to each club’s resources and playing style requires strong analytical skills. At first blush, to the untrained eye, it would appear that all MLS clubs are operating on a level playing field with respect to resources; however, not all resources are applied in the same manner. As in any sports league, on field success may come at a steep cost, and cost consciousness may lead to poor on field results. A delicate balance that requires analysis and a deep understanding of the MLS roster rules. On that note, let’s dive in to the current roster composition of the Columbus Crew.1
Current Landscape
To level-set, as of the time of writing, the Crew’s roster consists of the following: (i) 17 senior players (including J. Anibaba); (ii) 6 international players; (iii) 4 designated players; and (iv) 2 Under 22 initiative players (according to the Crew’s website, Yaw Yeboah is classified as an Under 22 initiative player).
Designated Players
As stated above, the Crew’s current roster includes four designated players: (1) Darlington Nagbe (31), (2) Pedro Santos (33), (3) Gyasi Zardes (30), and (4) Lucas Zelarayán (29). According to the MLSPA’s salary guide, based on their 2021 salaries, both Pedro Santos and Gyasi Zardes fall within the TAM salary range. Given that Lucas Zelarayán recently signed a contract extension, and Milton Valenzuela’s young designated player contract has expired, it is clear that one or both of Santos or Zardes will be re-classified as TAM players for the 2022 league year. Classifying both Santos and Zardes as TAM players would leave the Crew with one remaining designated player slot for the 2022 league year.
Recent Transactions
While the Crew have completed previous transactions that may have an impact on 2022 GAM and TAM balances, the details of the ongoing impact of these transactions is unclear (e.g. Will Trapp’s trade to Inter Miami). As such, this analysis excludes transactions in which 2020/2021 GAM and TAM may have been applied based on conditions or the performance of any particular player or team. See below for the Crew’s recent transactions.
In addition to the above, Alexandru Matan’s transfer fee is likely to impact the Crew’s 2022 GAM balance; Matan’s fee is likely to have been amortized over the length of his initial contract with the Crew ($450,000 in GAM per year for four years). Similarly, Yaw Yeboah’s transfer fee (rumored to be approximately $2 million) is likely to impact the Crew’s 2022 TAM balance ($666,667 in TAM per year over three years).
Allocation Money Remaining
Given the transactions referenced above, before applying any GAM or TAM to reduce salary budget charges, the Crew’s approximate GAM and TAM balances are likely close to the below figures.
That leaves the Crew with quite a bit of allocation money to work with in order to (i) buy down salaries or (ii) bring in any future players. Below is a quick scroll of the Crew’s roster; note that season ending injuries are highlighted in red; players out on loan are highlighted in yellow; and supplemental players are highlighted in blue.
Gaps to Fill
For a visualization of the Crew’s senior roster, see below for the roster assigned by position group. One noticeable absence from the Crew’s senior roster: left-back. It is clear that Milton Valenzuela has left a hole in the Crew’s roster. Additionally, the Crew’s options at left-wing are also currently limited. There is a significant amount of time before the MLS season begins, and the Crew have a significant amount of allocation money to acquire MLS quality left-sided players in the coming weeks and months.
Next Steps
The Crew’s roster build is not yet complete. Plenty of time to (i) address the absence of MLS-level left-sided players that can step in and make an impact and (ii) efficiently allocate GAM and TAM across the roster.
Note: This Roster Deep Dive incorporates (i) assumptions related to (a) TAM and GAM amounts applied by the Columbus Crew; and (b) previous TAM and GAM amounts applied to the Columbus Crew’s 2022 budget; (ii) salary data from the MLSPA’s annual release of player salary data; and (iii) publicly available information and estimates related to transfer fees. Screenshots generated using Counterfor.io.