Every MLS team's biggest remaining roster question for 2026

I had two columns on the mothership this week, looking at the five biggest unanswered roster questions in each conference:

• Western Conference: 5 biggest roster questions that need answers
• Eastern Conference: 5 biggest roster questions that need answers

Those are the big ones – What’s gonna happen with Chucky? Will Dallas get their 10? Is Josh Sargent going to land in Toronto? Questions with answers that potentially reach to eight figures.

Timo Werner, it turns out, cost much less than that for the Quakes. Good work by them, though obviously the big question now (as addressed in the column) is what they do with the other two open DP slots they’ve got to use. My guess is that they TFC will be the two busiest teams between now and First Kick.

The other 20 teams (the ones not in those columns, I mean) have smaller questions1 to answer because they’ve mostly done the work by now. And that’s what the rest of this column is gonna be.

So… yeah. If you don’t see your team listed below, don’t get mad. It just means you’re rooting for one of the teams with legitimately big questions to answer and I took my best shot in the columns linked above. Click through!

• Austin FC: …Are there any other moves coming? Austin have no premium roster slots, the smallest amount of GAM in the league and not much cap room to speak of. They also project to be two or three-deep at every spot, so there’s nothing urgent here.

That said, I wouldn’t be sad for them if they announced tomorrow that someone was taking Myrto Uzuni off their hands.2 But I don’t think that’s going to happen.

• Chicago Fire: Will they add fullback depth?

Honestly, I doubt it and don’t think they need to, as they can easily flex into a 3-4-2-1 and use Omari Glasgow as an attacking wingback on either side, plus they’re really starting to push talent from the academy through into the first team.

• FC Cincinnati: Will they get an offer they can’t refuse for Kévin Denkey or Dado Valenzuela?

I like Dado a lot, but there have been whispers for months, and the way Cincy builds – heavy on mid-tier veterans – means they need to stack GAM by whatever means necessary.

As for Denkey:

Man, it’s late in the window to be doing such gigantic business, but they should not turn down $25m (let alone $30m or more) for him if that’s the offer that comes through.

• Colorado Rapids: Is that offer going to come through for Rafa Navarro?

We all thought Palmeiras was going to make a Godfather offer, but it never came. Vitor Roque’s been accruing plenty of Premier League interest, though, and if they sell him for $40m this weekend, then they’ve suddenly got plenty of money to come knock Colorado’s socks off.

For what it’s worth, I thought Darren Yapi was excellent down the stretch last year and Donavan Phillip was the best No. 9 in college soccer. If I were the Rapids and sold Navarro, I wouldn’t spend the open DP slot to replace him. I’d develop the kids.

• Columbus Crew: Is that offer going to come through for Max Arfsten?

Middlesbrough reportedly keep trying and Arfsten’s definitely due a raise, so we’ll see.

The other question I’ve got here is if another CB is going to be brought in. They missed Rudy Camacho all last year, and even with him back could use an insurance policy.

• D.C. United: Will they bring in a true playmaker?

They have an open U-22 slot (or DP slot if they go with the DP roster build). Right now it kiiind of seems like they’re going to be relying on Louis Munteanu (who’s more of a second forward than a true 9, by all accounts) and Caden Clark(???) in a 3-4-2-1 under Tai Baribo, and that doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence.

• Houston Dynamo: Are they bringing in a starting left back?

Right now it’s 23-year-old Brazilian Felipe Andrade, who put up some numbers but otherwise really struggled last year. Could be a Gass Theorem guy this year, I guess?

• Sporting KC: Are they gonna sign some guys?3

Here’s what their backline depth chart looks like right now:

They’re thin everywhere except in goal, and head coach Raphael Wicky doesn’t even have his P-1 Visa yet. Feels like it’s going to be a very, very tough start to the season.

• LAFC: Are they going to bring in another dedicated d-mid?

Right now I’ve got Mathieu Choiniere down as the starter and starting center back Eddie Segura as his primary back-up. That obviously changes when Igor Jesus gets healthy, but we’re talking mid-season for that.

Mark Delgado could play there in a pinch, but asking him to be your 6 limits the rising-tide effect of all the No. 8 stuff he does. I think they need one more “break in case of emergency” name on the depth chart.

• LA Galaxy: Will they bring Diego Fagundez back?

This became much less urgent when they signed Erik Thommy earlier this week, but Fagundez gave them more than 3000 mostly good minutes across all competitions last year at three different positions.

Honestly, the bigger question I have right now is “will they try to upgrade in goal?”

• Inter Miami: Are they going to move Telasco Segovia?

I doubt it – I think they’ll roll with the team they’ve got for the first half of the season. But Segovia doesn’t project to be a starter, there’s a ton of interest in him both within the league and outside of it, and Miami are good at moving players to turn into GAM.

• Minnesota United: Will they bring in a new No. 9?

DP Kelvin Yeboah was not good last year, but right now he’s the starter. His backups are the unproven Mamadou Dieng and converted winger/wingback Bongi Hlongwane.

I could see them rolling the dice with this group. But I could also see them deciding they’ve got enough info, it’s not great, and changes need to be made.

• Montréal Impact: Are there wingers on the way?

Montréal’s got two open premium roster slots, and just three wingers on the roster. Plus only one No. 10.

They need reinforcements.

• Nashville SC: Can they find like-for-like back-ups/heirs at both fullback spots?

Daniel Lovitz has been irreplaceable since the team’s inception, and Andy Najar was arguably the best RB in the league last year. They’re both in their mid-30s and possessed of skillsets that don’t come around often.

This one’s low-key really tough, and could go from the back burner to furious, incredible urgency with one wrong step.

• New England Revolution: Is there forward depth incoming?

This team looks like they’ll play a 3-4-1-2, but the only true forwards on the team are Leo Campana and Dor Turgeman. They need to grab a back-up/spot starter on the cheap from somewhere.

• New York City FC: Is Talles Magno going to stick around?

If he is/does, then thanks to that, as well as the additions of Moussa Sylla and Kai Trewin, for the first time ever it seems like NYCFC will be going into the season with a full depth chart. They don’t really have more “will they make this addition?” questions, rather it’s about getting guys like Keaton Parks, Anders Perea, Malachi Jones4 and, eventually, Alonso Martinez healthy.

The real questions NYCFC face are more about roster composition – as in, can they actually open up the U-22 slots of the loanees this year? And can they replace Justin Haak with the guys on-hand?

It’s a test for Pascal Jansen, who really impressed me in year 1. We’ll see what Year 2 brings.

• Philadelphia Union: Is a true left back on the way?

The Union sold their best chance creator, left back Kai Wagner, this winter. They have multiple open premium roster slots, more GAM than almost anybody, and are starting Nathan Harriel at LB in preseason games.

Harriel’s a good little player, but his is a very different profile from Wagner’s. They need some work here.5

• Real Salt Lake: Are backline upgrades coming?

It looks like they’re going to a 3-4-2-1 and if that’s the case, it’s not clear who the starting right center back should be (though I don’t hate that it’s been DeAndre Yedlin in preseason).

RSL have a ton of flexibility here, with three open premium roster slots and a ton of GAM. They’ve already been busy, I’d be shocked if they don’t make more big adds in the next couple of weeks.

• Seattle Sounders: Is an offer going to come for Obed Vargas?

Kind of thought that the answer was an easy no, but CSO Craig Waibel moved with some urgency this winter in filling that potential hole, signing Hassani Dotson as a free agent and getting U-22 Nikola Petkovic on loan from Charlotte.

And now Obed’s played his way into the Mexico national team picture (and picked up a dope nickname, El Pinguino), which is not insignificant in terms of raising his profile.

Given he’s entering the final 12 months of his contract… again, I thought the answer was an easy no: teams would just wait it out and sign him to a pre-contract this summer on a free. But we just saw Villarreal move for Alex Freeman, who, contract-wise, was in the exact same position.

Could be an interesting weekend!

• Vancouver Whitecaps: No questions!

The ‘Caps signed AZ Jackson (free agent) and Bruno Caicedo (U-22) this week to fill out their winger depth chart, which was the only real question I had about this roster. They’re stacked.

I was back on Soccerwise this week, digging into theory with Gass & Bobby. It was a really, really fun show – Bobby has a way of making you interrogate your own beliefs and why you believe them in a way that is, in my experience, unmatched.

To be clear, this episode is 100% for the sickos. So if you’ve made it this far in the newsletter… yeah, that means you.