Last week was an exciting one for nerds fans of salary cap minutiae like me, as Major League Soccer (MLS) released the club roster profiles for all 30 teams. Every sports league has its own set of intricate rules and regulations, and MLS is no different. For a league that seemingly embraced a lack of transparency for years, it has been a breath of fresh air that MLS is starting to share more information. Later this year, we will find out each player’s salary for the 2026 season, but for now, we know the status of every player as of Feb. 26, plus the few official transfers that are listed on the transfer tracker on the MLS website.

If you click on that link you will note that the transfer tracker is not accurate for Orlando City, as it neglects to mention that Alex Freeman was transferred to Villarreal. As far as I am concerned, that means that Freeman can suit up for the Lions on Saturday, so Alex, get on that yellow submarine and head west to the Bronx. We will see you there, in a baseball stadium. Sigh.

Freeman could use the minutes, having played only 31 across six games since joining Villarreal, but Griffin Dorsey is doing a great job out on the right side in his stead, and if not for bad luck, he would have a goal and an assist in his first two games as a Lion. Dorsey was acquired in late February in a GAM-for-player deal with the Houston Dynamo, and that brings us back to the club roster profiles which were released a week ago.

I went through each club’s profile and aggregated the counts of players in each roster designation, and the results are in the table below. The long list of rules for roster construction can be found here, and I will remind you that reading these rules is only slightly less effective than counting sheep if you are trying to grab some sleep. And now, without another peep, let us plunge into the end that is deep and take a look at the table that my aggregation reaped.

A few notes on this table:

• These counts come directly from the club roster profiles on Feb. 26 but also include the few official transactions that have occurred since then.
• The max and min columns reflect the number of players that at least one team has in that category, not the allowable maximum or minimum.
• The Homegrowns row has an asterisk because, frankly, the rules are a little complicated with how teams can use and pay players they either developed themselves or acquired from another club’s youth setup. That said, I put two numbers in each column to try to simplify it: the first value is the total number of players listed as a Homegrown Player and the number inside the parentheses is the number of Homegrowns who are on the active roster. Orlando City, for example, has six total Homegrowns but only four (Gustavo Caraballo, Colin Guske, Javier Otero, and Zakaria Taifi) on the active roster. Justin Ellis and Tahir Reid-Brown are Homegrowns but are not on the active roster, even though both were dressed against Miami and Reid-Brown went the full 90, while Caraballo did not dress for either of the first two games. That is how MLS rolls.
• I did not count, but dozens of players are listed on rosters but are currently unavailable due to being on loan, on the injured list, or in one case due to visa issues. I excluded all of these players from the counts in the table.

All right, enough of that, what does this mean for Orlando City?

First and foremost, it means that the Lions have room on their roster for acquisitions. The maximum number of players on an active roster is 30 (Senior Roster + Supplemental Roster), and Orlando City is only using 24 of those 30 spots. That leaves six spots available for roster maneuvering, and it is overwhelmingly likely that the front office will sign a few more players before the season ends.

No team is using all 30 active roster spots at the moment, which makes sense as it is early in the season and teams want roster flexibility, but the 24 spots currently being used by Orlando City ranks 22nd in the league. Our David Rohe wrote about the team’s depth issues in the latest edition of our weekly newsletter, which you too can receive by signing up here, and while playing the kids will help in the long run, in the short run Orlando City needs to get some points, and using those available spots to sign some proven veterans could help.

Another interesting item to note is that Orlando City went big on Ojedas, with both Braian and Martín occupying Designated Player spots on the roster at the moment. The third Designated Player, Marco Pašalić, is the only one of the three who cannot be bought down to become a TAM player, however, and so if Orlando City is able to acquire a certain French player, or another player of his ilk, the team can easily convert one of the Ojedas (most likely Braian) to a TAM player and offer that third Designated Player slot to an incoming player.

It is not shown in the table above, but it also appears from the club profiles that the Lions have one international slot available to them that they have yet to use, which would fit very nicely on that theoretical Designated Player signing.

Moving on, I am not here to tattle on anyone but…Orlando City’s opponent this weekend landed one too many Pigeons on its Supplemental Roster, as league rules state that “a club may have no more than 11 players on its Supplemental Roster, subject to the Season-Ending Injury, Injured List, and Loan exceptions.” NYCFC shows none of those as it relates to its Supplemental Roster players, and as the official league document shows that the Pigeons have 12 players on their Supplemental Roster, I think their punishment should be an automatic forfeit, with three points going to Orlando City. Who is with me?

Nothing will happen, of course, as NYCFC is owned by City Football Group, which has a vast amount of experience with (allegedly) flouting league rules (*cough* Manchester City *cough*). And realistically, that Supplemental Roster oversight has already been addressed and fixed, but until MLS issues an updated document, NYCFC appears to be out of compliance and the only games on baseball fields in New York City this weekend should be, you know, baseball games.

That will not be the case, and there will be soccer in Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Lions have not fared well on the road against NYCFC this decade, and are on a run of five straight losses when playing away against the Pigeons. Preferably they do not match those six open active roster spots with a sixth straight loss, and they take their 24 players plus the extra Homegrowns up to the Big Apple and give NYCFC a little of the old “how do you like them apples?” and come back with all three points.

And then maybe go out next week and sign three more players.

Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City heads to the Big Apple for the first away match of the season. The Lions will take on New York City FC in the worst venue in MLS — Yankee Stadium. Orlando City is looking to earn the first points of the season after two straight losses. Away matches are typically difficult in MLS and nowhere moreso than on a baseball field. What must Orlando City do to earn all three points against NYCFC Saturday night?

The Back Line…Again

I know that right now it feels like I could copy and paste this section week to week, but since the player availability keeps changing, I do need to update the particulars. We know that Colin Guske (although he does not play on the back line, he helps shield it) will serve a red card suspension in this match, and it’s likely that Orlando City will also be without Nolan Miller at center back. Despite the experience level of the two players, this is not good news for the Lions.

Guske has done well since coming on for Wilder Cartagena in the first match, and Miller has arguably been Orlando City’s best center back so far. The loss of Guske isn’t as bad because midfield is a position of strength for the Lions and Eduard Atuesta’s return remedies Guske’s absence. Center back is not a position of strength for the Lions and that means Iago must continue to improve at a rapid pace. He did better against Inter Miami than the New York Red Bulls, but that may not be good enough this weekend.

This defense will need to do better for the full 90 minutes against the likes of Nicolas Fernandez, Hannes Wolf, and Augustin Ojeda — that’s right, they have their own Ojeda. That’s not to mention perennial pain in the Lions’ rear, Maxi Morales. Hopefully, everyone can go the full 90 minutes.

All the Goals

Orlando City did well in the first half against Inter Miami with both Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic scoring goals. That is a good and necessary thing for Designated Players to do, and I need them to do it again this Saturday. I also need Duncan McGuire to start scoring again. We know he can do it, I just need it to happen so he remembers he can do it.

Orlando City’s attack will have to deal with a back line consisting of Thiago Martins, Raul Gustavo, Kevin O’Toole, and Tayvon Gray. The biggest challenge might be the man in goal, Matt Freese, who is a top-notch MLS level keeper. NYCFC has only allowed one goal each match so far this season and that was against Philadelphia and LAFC. Given the state of Orlando City’s defense, the Lions will likely need to score more than one goal if they want to win.

Jekyll or Hyde?

Despite the loss to New York Red Bulls, Maxime Crepeau looked every bit the shot stopper Orlando City needed despite sketchy distribution. He was also good in the first half against Miami…and most of the second, except when he wasn’t. So, which version of Crepeau will we get in either half or both?

To be fair to Crepeau, he has the second-highest number of saves so far this season at 15. That’s also an indictment of the defense. However, he is also tied for second in goals allowed at six. His passing and distribution will be even more important on the baseball field masquerading as a soccer pitch that is Yankee Stadium.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

How’s it going, Mane Landers? Hopefully Orlando City and Orlando City B can turn things around this weekend after recent losses. If not, then we’ll have to start looking into ritualistic ways to turn the city’s luck around. I have an Etsy witch on speed dial if need be. But for now though, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Antoine Griezmann Transfer Saga Rolls On

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has reportedly pressed pause on a potential move to Orlando City before the MLS transfer window closes on March 26. Any and all news should be taken with a daily dose of salt, but it would still be nice if the rumor mill was spinning in the other direction on this move. It would not be surprising to me if Griezmann chose to see out the rest of this season with the Spanish club, which remains in contention for silverware. I’ll hold out hope until the deadline passes, but this transfer may have to wait for all sides to return to the negotiation table in the summer. Only time will tell, but Orlando at least reportedly has his discovery rights.

U.S. Shuts Out Canada in SheBelieves Cup

The United States Women’s National Team beat Canada 1-0 in Columbus in Wednesday’s SheBelieves Cup match. After a scoreless first half, the U.S. took the lead in the 55th minute thanks to a goal from Ally Sentnor off of a corner kick by Rose Lavelle. It was another shutout victory for the U.S. and the team has not conceded a goal in its past seven matches. The USWNT sits alone atop the standings and will play its final match on Saturday against Colombia, which beat Argentina 1-0.

Portland Thorns Hire Robert Vilahamn

With a little over a week to go before the start of the NWSL season, the Portland Thorns have named Robert Vilahamn as their next head coach. He joins the Thorns after two years with Tottenham’s women’s soccer team and led the English club to the FA Cup final in 2024. Vilahamn replaces Rob Gale, who parted ways with Portland in November after a 2025 season that included a third-place finish in the NWSL standings and an exit in the semifinals of the playoffs.

Keeping Up With Americans Abroad

American midfielder Yunus Musah came off the bench and scored the equalizer for Atalanta in a 2-2 draw with Lazio in the Italian Cup semifinals. That’s back-to-back appearances with a goal for the 23-year-old and hopefully this will lead to some more playing time for him. In other European cup action, Real Sociedad secured its spot in the Copa del Rey final by beating Athletic Club 1-0, with Head Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo making history in the process.

Americans clashed in the French Cup quarterfinals, with Mark McKenzie and Toulouse winning a penalty shootout against Timothy Weah and Marseille to advance. Folarin Balogun was named Monaco’s Player of the Month after scoring four goals in February.

Free Kicks

• There were six Orlando City Academy players called up for a U.S. U-14 regional talent identification in Georgia. Best of luck!
• The Utah Royals have signed Mexican forward Kiana Palacios from Club America for a reported $800,000 transfer fee. She is Club America’s all-time scorer, recording 90 goals in 174 league matches.
• Construction has begun for the Chicago Fire’s $750 million project for a new stadium, and hopes are high that it will make a communal impact in the Windy City.
• Real Madrid winger Rodrygo is out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and meniscus, meaning he will miss the World Cup with Brazil as well.
• Arsenal beat Brighton 1-0 while Manchester City drew 2-2 against Nottingham Forest, widening the gap between the two to seven points in the English Premier League title race.
• We’ll end our links with this interesting exploration into why there are so many more headers in the Scottish Premiership compared to other European Leagues, as well as what it means for player safety.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!