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Justin Schmidt and Reagan Dunk are set for MLS contracts, according to the latest from Salt Lake Tribune reporter Chris Kamrani.
That news made it to the bottom of an article about Kyle Beckerman’s availability and injury concerns — and yeah, he might miss the home opener.
We’re not going to take this time to argue the merits of that — that’s for you to decide, certainly — but we can at least talk about what that means for the roster. Both players will certainly be seeing plenty of time for Real Monarchs, too, so this doesn’t count out any developmental aspect.
First up, let’s assume — and this is an extremely safe assumption — that both players would be on the reserve roster. Let’s work our way backward this time.
Supplemental (21-24), reserve (25-28), Homegrown (29-30?), and USL-only (31?)
First, we reported in December about news of two homegrown-only spots being added to MLS rosters. Official word of that hasn’t been handed down from the MLS mountain, but let’s take it as truth. Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com also reported that there was a USL-only spot coming — meaning a player that would be given a first-team contract but only play for the club’s USL affiliate — so let’s assume that, too.
- 21: Jordan Allen (HGP)
- 22: Lalo Fernandez (HGP)
- 23: Justen Glad (HGP)
- 24: Omar Holness (GA, international)
- 25: Danilo Acosta (HGP)
- 26: Reagan Dunk
- 27: Sebastian Saucedo (HGP)
- 28: Brooks Lennon (loan, so not an HGP designation)
- 29 (HGP): Jose Hernandez (international)
- 30 (HGP): Ricardo Velazco
- 31 (USL-only): Justin Schmidt
Let’s take a step back, too. Jordan Allen and Justen Glad both signed new contracts recently, and I think there’s a strong possibility that one of them has graduated to the senior roster. But let’s assume they’re both still supplemental — I think that’s possible, and that maybe there are contract stipulations which would merit further increases over the coming years that would see them graduate.
Further, let’s assume that Justin Schmidt is being given that USL-only spot — he hasn’t shown he’s ready for the first team in preseason, but he also has shown he’s not the worst defender we’ve ever seen on the team. This is a big assumption.
Senior (1-20)
This part sort of fills itself out, though. We know exactly who’s on the senior roster (barring, of course, any graduation to there for Jordan Allen or Justen Glad.)
- Chad Barrett
- Kyle Beckerman
- Tony Beltran
- David Horst
- Aaron Maund
- Yura Movsisyan (DP)
- Luke Mulholland
- Demar Phillips (international)
- Joao Plata
- Nick Rimando
- Albert Rusnák (DP, international)
- Chris Schuler
- Luis Silva
- Sunday “Sunny” Stephen (international)
- Matt Van Oekel
- Chris Wingert
- ?
- ?
- Likely unfilled
- Likely unfilled
RSL general manager Craig Waibel has been perfectly clear that the club is in discussions with two foreign players; presumably, both, if they sign, would go to the senior roster immediately. We can’t be certain who those are, but let’s hope they’re fantastic.
If we don’t fill out spots 19 and 20, that gives us an opportunity to spread the salary budget around a little more, so I sort of expect that at this juncture. But that does also leave a little wiggle room for Justen Glad or Jordan Allen — again, that’s something we just don’t know too much about yet.
Hints as to green card status?
Finally, with RSL in discussions with two discrete foreign players (they’re countable on their own, people), we can assume that one of the club’s players is close to a green card. There have been talks about Jose Hernandez being that player, as he’s registered as an international player. It’s also possible that Demar Phillips is seeking one, although frankly, I have no idea how long it takes to get a green card these days, and how long you have to have resided in the country, or if Phillips is even interested.
Regardless, that’s something to think about in regard to our roster as well.