RENTON — MLS peeled back a layer of secrecy Thursday when it released “roster profiles” for its 29 teams. It’s a first for fans and media to receive the leaguewide information, but the Sounders have long offered player designations when they make roster transactions.
Now fans can be more accurate in role-playing as an MLS general manager. Nuances like a club’s available TAM (target allocation money), GAM (general allocation money), and where they are within the $5.4 million salary cap isn’t included. The roster status is as of May 1, a week after the league closed its primary transfer window. The secondary window is from July 18 through Aug. 14.
The MLS Players Association typically releases its Spring-Summer Salary Guide this month, which includes the annual base salary and annual guaranteed compensation for every player currently under an MLS contract.
Sounders general manager Craig Waibel was recently scouting in Europe. On the surface-level, according to the roster profile, he could add up to two international players or a U22 Initiative international player, the latter being a loophole to sign a more expensive player and only $200,000 counts against the cap. Sounders winger Leo Chu and midfielder Josh Atencio are two of the team’s three allotted U22 players.
Contracts for two of the club’s three designated players — striker Raul Ruidiaz and midfielder Albert Rusnak — will expire in December 2024. None of the designated players, including midfielder Pedro de la Vega, are eligible to have their status changed to non-designated player using TAM.
If Rusnak or Ruidiaz were to sign a new, non-designated player contract by summer, the Sounders theoretically could try to lure French international Kylian Mbappe to Seattle as a designated player. The 2018 FIFA men’s World Cup winner reportedly won’t resign with Paris Saint-Germain and on the table is a five-year deal that will pay him $16 million USD annually to play for Real Madrid.
Mbappe will enter the summer window as the best striker available globally. If he were to join MLS, $683,750 would count toward the cap.
That crack in the skies you heard was laughter from Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer, who has repeatedly stated his roster-building philosophy isn’t to spend the most. So don’t bet on Mbappe in Rave Green, but clarification on what’s possible for each team is now widespread information with MLS’s roster profile release.
Other players in the final year of their contract for Seattle are midfielder Joao Paulo, defender Jackson Ragen, and keeper Andrew Thomas.
Injury updates
Sounders defender Nathan will be out 6-8 weeks with a hamstring injury. The center back suffered the injury during training last month and a recent MRI showed the severity is “pretty bad,” according to coach Brian Schmetzer.
The Brazilian was a free agent signing last winter. Nathan previously played for the San Jose Quakes, missing the bulk of the 2023 season due to a torn ACL.
Nathan was impactful in his one appearance for the Sounders. He had a goal line block in the 2-1 road loss against Los Angeles FC to open the season.
Sounders forward Danny Musovski (back) and midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting (hamstring) will be in full training when the team returns to the field Friday. The players had tailored regenerate sessions Thursday.
Corner kicks
Seattle defeated Philadelphia 3-2 on Tuesday, but none of the goals was from the season-high 10 corner kicks the team won. And the Union’s opening goal was off poor corner-kick defending.
“We shouldn’t miss on corner-kick defending,” Schmetzer said. “We shouldn’t miss on that.”
Assistant coach Andy Rose is primarily responsible for Seattle’s tactics for set pieces.
“I challenged Andy that his job is in peril if one of our guys don’t score,” Schmetzer joked with reporters while smiling.
The Sounders host the LA Galaxy at Lumen Field on Sunday. Schmetzer went on to compliment Rose’s work on set pieces.
“Andy has been in charge of that, and he does a great job with [analyst] Rodrigo [Carvalho],” Schmetzer said. “They do a lot of film; they get everything organized, and we’re very close.”
Schmetzer referenced Chad Marshall, who retired as a three-time MLS Defender of the Year, as an example of a player known for scoring headers off corner-kick set pieces. The club would like Ragen to fill a similar role, and Yeimar Gomez Andrade has developed into a threat on set-piece defending.
“Jackson can be that guy,” Schmetzer said. “Now, is that Jackson on his own, is that Jackson with Andy’s help, our schemes … We’re OK with our set pieces except for the fact that we need to score more, and the one time a player isn’t in the right spot that his teammates help him.”
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Brian Schmetzer was joking when he said Andy Rose’s job is in peril.
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