Three Free Agents Who Could Help Orlando City’s Striker Depth

Much like a man over 40 who’s suffering from low testosterone, Orlando City is looking a little thin up top. The Lions’ current list of strikers who have proven themselves capable of playing at the Major League Soccer level is comprised of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique…and that’s it. Orlando does have 24-year-old Jack Lynn, who absolutely torched MLS NEXT Pro by scoring 19 goals in 26 games on his way to securing a share of the golden boot. But as Sean Rollins pointed out earlier this week, he’s only made six appearances in two years for the first team, and 2024 is very much a prove-it year for him.

With that in mind, the Lions could potentially look at securing the services of a free agent to help with striker depth. Duncan McGuire is likely to maintain the starting job with Ramiro Enrique as the backup, but OCSC could benefit from a savvy vet who both knows the league, and where the goal is. Here are three players who I think could fill precisely that role for Orlando this year, ranked in order of who I’d most like to see the team sign.

Josef Martinez

No need to stand on ceremony here, Josef Martinez would instantly add firepower to the Lions’ roster. With seven goals and an assist in 27 games last year, his production fell off a little from where it’s been in years past, but the sheer number of attack-minded cooks in Inter Miami’s kitchen didn’t do him any favors either. There’s zero doubt that he’s well aware of where the goal is, and at 30 years of age he should still have a good amount of tread left on his tires. There might be some questions about whether he’d want to play second fiddle to McGuire, but frankly if he hypothetically beat Duncan out for the starting job, I wouldn’t have any problem with the youngster learning behind him for a little bit. Plus between Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, the regular season, and potentially the U.S. Open Cup, there should be plenty of games to go around. The downside is that very likely wouldn’t come cheap, but players of his caliber require you to break open the checkbook a little bit. He’s been one of Orlando’s most hated heels for years, but the only thing people love more than a good heel, is a well-earned face turn. Get him in purple.

Diego Rubio

A favorite son of the Colorado Rapids, Rubio had three goals and four assists in 16 games last year for the Western Conference team. Like Martinez, his production has fallen off from where it was when he scored 16 goals and provided 17 assists in 30 games back in 2022. Still, like Martinez he’s only 30 years old and should have some juice left. It’s also hard to hold his 2023 numbers against him too much when he played on a Rapids team that finished last in the West with 27 points and only scored 26 goals all year. One way of looking at things is that he was directly responsible for just over 25% of all the goals the Rapids scored last year, and the man only played in 16 games. In theory, he could function similarly to Martinez in that he could compete for the starting job, and even if he didn’t win it, there would still be a good chunk of playing time up for grabs. Rubio made $600,000 in base compensation last year, so while he’d be cheaper than Martinez, he’d still cost the team a fair bit of money. I’m not quite as high on him as I am Josef, but he would still provide a veteran presence and extra scoring punch that would really upgrade Orlando’s depth up top.

Kei Kamara

I know, I know, Kamara is ancient. He’ll turn 40 this September and buying players who are that old typically isn’t good business. But Kamara just scores, man. Everywhere he’s been he’s gotten goals, even as he’s gotten well into his thirties. He had five goals and two assists in 27 games last year for a Chicago Fire team that finished 13th in the East. In this scenario Duncan would be the starter and Kamara and Enrique would be battling it out to be the first man off the bench. At 6-foot-3, he’d also give the Lions some much needed height and would provide a completely different look in games that Orlando was either chasing, or times where the team wants to bunker deep and play the ball up to a big target man. He almost certainly isn’t a guy who you sign to a multi-year deal like Martinez or Rubio, but he could be the final piece for a team looking to make the most of what could be a closing championship window. He’d also almost certainly be the most cost effective of the three options, as his base compensation was $200,000 last year.

Those are my top three choices for MLS free agent strikers who I believe could help Orlando City this season. They all have their pros and cons, but at the end of the day each one would make the team better and help OCSC chase an MLS Cup. Are there any free agents who you’d like to see suit up in purple this season? If so, be sure to sound off down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!