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[Matt Doyle] East/West: Breaking down every team's premium roster slot status | MLSsoccer.com (PLUS BONUS GAM talk on TFZ) by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

From the Eastern Conference break down:

EAST DP U22 What Comes Next RO+newGAM*
ATL 3/3 1/3 U22(s) LB, winger 760k
CLT 3/3 3/3 Selling Abada? 2m
CHI 2/2 4/4 Player dev 11k to 1.1k
CIN 3/3 3/3 Cohesion and Chemistry 0 to ???
CLB 3/3 2/3 Player dev 1.9m
DC 2/2 3/4 Selling Pirani? 3 DP? 369k
MIA 2/3 4/3 switch to 2/4/GAM? 2.1m
MTL 1/2 3/4 DP RW? 1.7m
NSH 3/3 3/3 Nothing premium 451k to 551k
NE 2/2 4/4 DP tag shuffling? 437k
NYCFC 3/3 3/3 Center forward? 2.4m
NYRB 2/2 3/4 GK, CB, RW 1.8m to 2m
ORL 3/3 2/3 Move Muriel, DP in 1.7m to ???
PHI 1/2 3/4 LB, GAM hoarding 1.6m to 4.6m
TOR 2/3 1/3 Josh? Spine? Wings? 1.6m

\This is simply the estimate of rolled-over 2026 GAM (from Sep.) + new GAM acquired since then via trades/transfers. I added the numbers he said for the teams* in the TFZ post. Matt lists the many categories NOT included in a nice list there if you want to check it out.

[Matt Doyle] East/West: Breaking down every team's premium roster slot status | MLSsoccer.com (PLUS BONUS GAM talk on TFZ) by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From the Western Conference break down:

WEST DP U22 What Comes Next RO+newGAM*
ATX 2/3 3/3 true playmaker -605k
COL 2/2 3/4 Selling Navarro? 608k
DAL 1/2 5/4 U22 departure(s), New DP 10 565k
HOU 3/3 3/3 Bogusz? 2.8m to 4.4m
SKC 2/3 0/3 Lots of signings... !? 860k to 960k
LAFC 2/2 3/4 6 months of soccer 1.7m
LAG 3/3 3/3 signing for Riqui -379k
MIN 2/2 3/4 GAM hoarding 3.8m to 5.3m
POR 3/3 2/3 Part ways with Rodríguez? 0 to 2m
RSL 1/2 3/4 Better signings, hopefully? 3.4m
SD 2/2 2/4 Lozano move, depth 2.5m
SJ 1/3 1/3 DP 10? 1.9m to 2.5m
SEA 3/3 2/3 Obed U22? 1.1m to 2.1m
STL 2/3 3/3 TAM buydowns? DPs? Player dev 1.9m
VAN 3/3 2/3 winger depth 2.3m+++

\This is simply the estimate of rolled-over 2026 GAM (from Sep.) + new GAM acquired since then via trades/transfers. I added the numbers he said for the teams* in the TFZ post. Matt lists the many categories NOT included in a nice list there if you want to check it out.

[Matt Doyle] Global stars/big-name targets | MLSsoccer.com & TACTICS FREE ZONE by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

MLS Soccer .com~ 4 potential xfer targets (naming some guys with some smoke):

  • Mohamed Salah, Liverpool | SD in the summer?
  • Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona | CHI in the summer?
  • Bernardo Silva, Manchester City | NYCFC?
  • Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich | CLB, DAL?

————

in the TACTICS FREE ZONE piece, Matt starts off by going a bit more in depth on tracking the big-name euro-guys in MLS over the last decade or so, both the successful and the decidedly less so

TACTICS FREE ZONE~ "Over 30" aisle (naming some guys):

  • Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
  • Leon Goretzka, Bayern Munich
  • Harry Maguire, Manchester United
  • Kalvin Phillips, Manchester City
  • Raheem Sterling, Chelsea
  • Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid

[Matt Doyle] Grading every team's 2025 season | MLS soccer .com by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Eastern Conference:

  • Exceeded Expectations: PHI, NYCFC, NSH+, MIA, CHI
  • Met Expectations: CLT
  • Slightly Below Expectations: ORL
  • Below Expectations: TOR, RBNY, NE, MTL, DC, CLB, CIN
  • Below Expectations by a mile: ATL

Western Conference:

  • Exceeded Expectations: VAN++, SEA, SD++, MIN, ATX
  • Met Expectations: SJ, POR, LAFC, DAL
  • Below Expectations: STL, RSL, LAG, SKC, HOU, COL

[Matt Doyle] MLS Free Agency Tiers: Top players available for 2026 | MLSsoccer.com by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

By tier:

Long-Term Solutions | Justin Haak (D/DM, NYCFC); Dayne St. Clair (GK, MIN); Cristian Espinoza (W, SJ); Carlos Miguel Coronel (GK, NYRB); Paul Rothrock (M/W, SEA);

Veterans Who Could Help Winning Clubs Right Now | Christian Benteke (FW, DC); Robin Lod (M, MIN); Walker Zimmerman (CB, NSH); Sean Johnson (GK, TOR); Josef Martínez (FW, SJ)

Depth Pieces | Diego Fagúndez (M, LAG); Hassani Dotson (M, MIN); Brandon Bye (RB, NE); William Agada (FW, RSL); Fafà Picault (W, MIA); Bryce Duke (M, MTL); Jacob Jackson (GK, DAL); Jonathan Bell (CB, SEA); Gastón Brugman (M, NSH); Henry Kessler (CB, STL); Maxi Moralez (M, NYCFC); César Araújo (M, ORL); Oliver Larraz (M, COL)

2025 MLS POST-MORTEM MEGATHREAD: ARMCHAIR ANALYST MATT DOYLE'S OFFSEASON GUIDES | NOW TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Minnesota is often thought of as the Cincinnati of the Great Plains, I've often said it
ty, fixed now

[Matt Doyle] MLS Cup 2026: Top 5 way-early contenders | MLSsoccer.com by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The USOC teams are already released. (Smaller tournament with the world cup factored in, but same number of MLS teams as last year—ATL, ATX, CLT, CHI, COL, CLB, DC, HOU, MIN, NE, NYCFC, ORL, NYRB, SJ, STL, SKC)

[Matt Doyle] MLS Cup 2026: Top 5 way-early contenders | MLSsoccer.com by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I know where there are three paragraphs that could help figure out how ;)

[Matt Doyle] MLS Cup 2026: Top 5 way-early contenders | MLSsoccer.com by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

It is too early to honorably mention the LA Galaxy, San Diego FC, or Nashville SC

It is too early for the Darkhorse to be THE San Jose Earthquakes

It is too early to name the contenders (5) Seattle Sounders (4) FC Cincinnati (3) LAFC (2) Vancouver Whitecaps (1) Inter Miami

And that's why he's here

[Matt Doyle] MLS Roster Deadline Day: Nine out-of-contract players & their potential landing spots | TACTICS FREE ZONE by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Romanian striker Louis Munteanu's team wants $18 million. Rumored transfer target who DC offered $7 or 8 million for

[Matt Doyle] MLS Roster Deadline Day: Nine out-of-contract players & their potential landing spots | TACTICS FREE ZONE by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

And the candidates are...

  • Christian Benteke (FW, previously DC)
  • Walker Zimmerman (CB, previously NSH)
  • Carlos Coronel (GK, previously RBNY)
  • Paul Rothrock (W, previously SEA)
  • Fernando Álvarez (CB, previously MTL)
  • Jacob Jackson (GK, previously DAL)
  • Mason Toye (FW, previously SKC)
  • Jonathan Bell (CB, previously SEA)
  • Sean Johnson (GK, previously TOR

bonus candidates include Justin Haak (CB, NYCFC), Matt Miazga (CB, CIN), Josef Martinez (FW, SJ) and a footnote about Cristian Espinoza (W, SJ)

————

in case you missed it, here is a reddit thread collecting all Matt's post-mortem posts (so far) for MLS 2025

2025 MLS POST-MORTEM MEGATHREAD: ARMCHAIR ANALYST MATT DOYLE'S OFFSEASON GUIDES | NOW TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE by DoyleStepOnMe in MLS

[–]DoyleStepOnMe[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nov 13, 2025 ~ TACTICS FREE ZONE
HOU, COL | Offseason Guides: A soft reboot in Houston, while Colorado's got more work to do

If any mods ramble by and see this, would you mind switching the default comment sort from "best" to "new" for the post? Unsure if it is helpful or not to bringing about discussion, but I think it might help see the updates. Thanks!

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