Orlando City Roster Changes are Coming in the Winter of 2025
Introduction
My first blog post this offseason is all about the current state of the Orlando City roster as we head into the 2026 season. There's been a fair amount of discussion on this topic already but I think a comprehensive break down, by roster designation and position, could really benefit all kinds of Orlando City fans. This post could be outdated in a few short days but it still is a fun exercise.
As one of the mods on the r/OCLions subreddit, I helped put together the end of the year survey that just closed a few days ago. A lot of the results in that survey did not surprise me except for the fact that many people seem to align with my thoughts about the roster. That survey really pushed me to post this (I also broke down the results on X for the folks that follow me over there).
Orlando City Roster Profile Page
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| from the MLS Roster Profile Site |
Starting this past year, Major League Soccer (MLS) put out a club-by-club breakdown of each roster and collected all the data into a "Roster Profile". They completed two of these profiles this year, with the one posted above from September, being posted most recently. These pages are pretty simple to read but I'll break this down for anyone who is seeing this for the first time while also explaining some of the MLS roster rules.
General Roster Rules
- Clubs can have up to 30 players on their active roster. All 30 players are eligible for selection on the game day squad.
- Senior Roster-can have up to 20 players (slots 1-20), all of which count against the clubs salary budget. Clubs are not required to fill the 19 or 20 spot.
- The Maximum Salary Budget Charge for a single player is $743,750.
- Supplemental Roster (slots 21-31) do not count toward a club's Salary Budget. A club cannot have more than 11 players on its Supplemental Roster.
- Slots 21-24 may be filled with Senior Minimum Salary Players ($104,000). Players at this level must be paid at least $104,000.
- Slots 25-30 may be filled with players earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($80,622). The player must be 24 years old or younger to occupy this spot.
- Slot 31 is for players who are on a season-long loan to a lower division who is 24 years or younger during the league year. This player can only play for the first team through the Short-Term Call Up mechanism.
Alright with all that out of the way, you'll see a column on the right with a few smaller tables. The top table lists the players occupying an International Roster Slot. Each club normally starts with 8 but these can be traded for/traded away for the entire season. Orlando City had 7 slots this year and though they list 9 players, Yutaro Tsukada and Wilder Cartagena don't count against that number since they were on the Season-Ending Injury Injured List (SEI).
The next box down are the Designated Players (DPs) the club has. Those are players where the total compensation and acquisition costs exceed the Maximum Salary Budget Charge. The club then bears the financial responsibility for the compensation above the Salary Budget Charge. Against the Salary Cap, these players only cost $743,750. The club had 3 DPs this past year in Luis Muriel, Martín Ojeda, and Marco Pašalić.
After that are players that are on the U22 Initiative. The club only had one by the end of the year with Nicolás Rodríguez being the only player on that list. They could have up to 3 based on the "3 DP plan" they chose at the beginning of the year.
Finally, the last two boxes are the SEI list, listing Wilder Cartagena and Yutaro Tsukada then the remaining General Allocation Money (GAM) that the club has available. You can read more about GAM/TAM on the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations page. All this information should be a big help when we talk about specific players going forward.
Out of Contract Players
Pedro Gallese
The first player I'll cover is a player that already let us know he's on his way out. It was announced on 10/31 that Pedro Gallese would no longer be with the team going forward. The Peruvian Goalkeeper came into the club at a time where Orlando couldn't find steady leadership between the pipes. When he first came in, fans were ecstatic. To go out and grab the #1 goalkeeper was quite the acquisition and boy... he did not disappoint, especially in the early years.
However, as time went on and Gallese ended up getting some raises for his performances, he basically priced himself out of his job. The goalkeeper dropped off from a performance standpoint during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He did have a bit of a bounce back in 2025, based on pure numbers, but he still suffered from a handful of howlers and suspect play. After being paid the 3rd highest salary in 2025 and the 2nd highest salary in 2024 for a goalkeeper at $1.25 million, the club could not justify the price. Rumors out of Peru say that the keeper never got an opportunity to negotiate a lower deal to stay and that the club just said "thank you but we're moving on". The club now has some decisions to make this offseason at goalkeeper with only Javier Otero and Carlos Mercado on the roster.
Verdict: Walks at the end of the year
César Araujo
César Araujo was a steal for the club when they brought him in early in 2022. The team was really looking for an enforcer who could come in and hold down the middle of the field. Orlando City has had a good history with number sixes with guys like Ceren, Higuita, Johnson, Mendez, and others which continued when the young Uruguayan came in. His first 3 years were good, even great in moments but late last year into this season, there were signs that he was looking to leave.
The club got an offer for him before the season to go to South America, Nacional specifically, but the fee was small and the club really needed him for the upcoming season. It was rumored since last year, that his family was stuck in Uruguay and that the midfielder wanted to return home/be closer to home to be by his family. Due to all of this news throughout the year and the clear indication in his play that he wasn't interested in being here, (Atlanta game, his "injury" during the last part of the year", etc.) it would be shocking if Araújo was here next season.
Verdict: Walks at the end of the year
Wilder Cartagena
This next player is a tough one to analyze. Wilder Cartagena has been a menace in the midfield for Orlando City since he came in on loan during the 2022 season. After his quality season, the club made the loan permanent and signed him to a deal through the 2025 season. Unfortunately, for the Peruvian midfielder, he suffered a ruptured left achilles during a preseason match and missed the entire 2025 season.
While Cartagena had great seasons in 2022, 2023, and 2024, a ruptured achilles is a tough injury to bounce back from. Not to mention that Cartagena is now over 30 and the body doesn't heal as well. Signing him to a new deal is conflicting. If Cartagena can return to his previous form, it's a no brainer, putting Orlando City in a decent place with the spine of their team. However, if he's a fraction of what he was, that could cause trouble for the team and the player. I'm also curious to see if the departure of Pedro Gallese will come into play when Wilder decides what his future may look like.
Verdict: Signs backs with the club, if he's healthy (2 year deal-maybe 1+1, could be on a lower number)
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith was one of the only good things about the Jame O'Connor era for Orlando City (honestly there isn't much else that was right about it). He has been a great plug and play option at both fullback spots (sometimes a rare center back appearance) up until this year and the team didn't seem to miss a beat. This year, things got dicey with injuries at a few spots and the team got creative on how they used Smith. He filled in a handful of games at CDM and a few more at CB, when called upon. While they weren't his best games in a position he doesn't normally play, he put in serviceable shifts there.
With how much he was used last year, I would imagine the team has ideas for him going forward, especially since it's believed that Oscar Parjea is back next year. I would not be against seeing Kyle back in purple. Though I would make an argument that for a backup fullback/centerback/CDM he may be making a bit too much but his flexibility makes up for the pay.
Verdict: Signs back with the club (another 1 year deal, maybe a lower number)
Players with Options
Martín Ojeda
I'm not sure what I can say about Martín Ojeda that hasn't already been said this season. When he first came in, we was relegated to a bench/sub role (getting decent minutes here and there). But when Facundo Torres was sold in the offseason before the 2025 season, everything changed for the Argentine. Ojeda went on a TORRID campaign for the Orlando City, racking up more than 30 goal contributions and really showing why he's a DP for Orlando City. If anything, the lack of starting and not getting over 2000 minutes before this season falls on Oscar.
Ojeda has 2 options left on his deal, one for 2026 and the other for 2027. At this point, the club would be foolish to turn down either of his option years. There are reports from journalists that Ojeda will have his options picked up but the options could turn into guarenteed years and a potential raise. It would be very well deserved if that happens.
Verdict: Options are picked up for both years (new deal is very likely to come with a raise)
Robin Jansson
Robin Jansson has been a rock in the center of the defense for Orlando City since he joined the club in 2019 and has really moved the club in a positive direction when it comes to locking up the squad on the backline. Some of his seasons he even entered the conversation of one of the best defenders in the league with national pundits giving the Swede his flowers. As time has gone on, he's gotten older but seemed to avoid Father Time while he was doing it. He was also named the captain for the club
This season, though, it seems time may have caught up to him. He got injured in pre-game warm ups before the season opener and he was injured against Vancouver leaving the game in the 18th minute while also missing the season finale against Toronto FC. He still amassed 3200 minutes so it's not like this injury knocked him out for too many games but there are questions: One, will the number of injuries continue to pile up for Jansson as he gets older? Two, he didn't have his best season defensively compared to years past. He seemed half a step behind, missed a few marks for set pieces, and lost a fair amount of air duels (was in the 1st percentile in % of Aerials won). Jansson was on almost a million dollars last season and the thought is the number will be similar for next year. With the bit of drop off of play, is the Swede worth that money?
Verdict: Option is picked up (I would personally decline and re-negotiate on a lower number 1+1)
Eduard Atuesta
Eduard Atuesta was a nice piece to add this offseason, especially after Cartagena went down and the team was short on central midfielders. Atuesta started off very well, with his distribution and organization really helping the center of the park. He was the go-to guy to put next to César Araújo (or Gerbet/Smith) which was great to have. But you can't debate that his performance fell off as the year went on.
The counter argument for that is he was asked to play a position that wasn't really his game to play. He's not a destroyer and was never going to be. He's a distributor and organizer or even have moments where he can score a goal or two. This year, he had to take on some of those destroyer responsibilities which brought his play down. The question for the Colombian midfielder is if he gets the right partner in the middle of the park and can go back to his duties where he does well, will he go back to his great form? The moments were there this season but not often enough for most.
Verdict: Option is picked up (I would decline and re-negotiate on a lower salary)
Iván Angulo
Iván Angulo has been with the club since 2022, where he spent 2 years on loan with Orlando before he was permanently acquired in 2024. The first two years were quality for the speedy winger. He caused problems for opponents and was able to collect 11 goal contributions. Even in 2024, he had 14 goal contributions and really caused fits for other teams.
But this year he fell to earth and hard. He had a total of 7 goal contributions and only had 1 goal in Leagues Cup in almost 3000 minutes. He had a handful of occasions where he had clear breakaways on goal and wasn't able to bury them. His defense this year made up for some of his missed attacking opportunities. He ranked in the 8oth percentile in tackles, tackles won, and tackles in the defensive third. He also had a fair amount of emotional outbursts, with the latest one in the Wild Card game against Chicago. With the low numbers and the displays of emotion, it may be time to move on from Angulo. A left wingers main job isn't to play defense and if Orlando could get a winger that plays half the defense but offers a lot on the offensive side, it may be a risk willing to take. But the culture in the locker room is very important and Angulo appears to not care so much about that culture based on his blowups.
Verdict: Option is picked up-he's Oscar's guy (I personally would decline)
Alex Freeman
Alex Freeman is on a meteoric rise this season. A young Lion who was playing with Orlando City B last year, found ways to make an impact in training at the end of the 2024 season. During the preseason, he pushed his way into the starting role conversation and then finally got his chance when he subbed on for the second half of the opener. He then started the rest of the season unless he was with the USMNT, since he got call ups for that squad as well. The young fullback ended the season with 6 goals and 6 assists amassing more than 3000 minutes over the season.
His time with the USMNT was also fruitful where he is currently playing himself into the World Cup conversation for next year. He won MLS Young Player of the Year and made the MLS Best XI for 2025. So what's next for Freeman? He has one option year left for this coming season and was getting looked at by a few foreign clubs during the summer window. He says he wants to get ready for the World Cup, will it be in Orlando?
Verdict: Option is picked up (I also hope the team can add on an extra year that way they can get a transfer fee for Freeman instead of letting him just walk).
Shak Mohamed/Favian Loyola/Yutaro Tsukada/Carlos Mercado/Tyrese Spicer
To expedite the process a bit, I'm going to lump together a few young players. Shak Mohamed and Favian Loyola have made little, to no effect, on the first team roster. They don't cost a ton for the team but if they aren't going to contribute to the main team it doesn't make a ton of sense to be on the roster.
Yutaro Tsukada and Carlos Mercado are interesting for two different reasons. For Tsukada, he, like Freeman, was having a great preseason and looked like he could have been able to contribute to the first team this past year. However, he did suffer from a ACL tear in his left knee and some players aren't the same when they come back from that injury. For Mercado, he spent most of the season playing with OCB, making the first team bench 3 times. With Gallese out the door, the club needs a backup keeper for Otero. His contract is cheap so it's probably worth keeping him around.
Tyrese Spicer got off to a nice start with Orlando City after the club acquired him in the summer transfer window. He had 2 goals and 2 assists in a little over 150 minutes, creating a quality goal contributions per 90 minutes. I, like others, are very curious to see how Spicer does next year when he gets a full offseason to train with the team.
Verdict: Decline Mohammed and Loyola (sign them to OCB), pick up Tsukada-if healthy, Mercado, and Spicer
Other Roster Moves
There are a few other moves that I would make that don't fit in one of the previous buckets.
The first one is pretty obvious: Buy out Luis Muriel and do it now. Sure, the Colombian striker had a better year this year than last year but it still isn't enough. The striker is on $4 million again next season and the club is not getting a return on investment there. Muriel had some moments-starting the season hot scoring 6 goals and 2 assists in the first 3 months, bang in a hat trick against Necaxa in Leagues Cup, and hanging a brace on Inter Miami-but outside of that was ineffective.
Second, give Adrián Marín a full offseason to bed into the team. I know he had some eye opening matches (in a bad way) this past year but he had two things stacked against him. He didn't have a ton of playing time when he was brought over so I'm not sure if he was even fully up to fitness. He also didn't get an offseason to understand how this team works/operates. He's only only on $378k so he's not breaking the bank for Orlando City but it could also lead to Orlando finally moving David Brekalo inside to his natural position. Brekalo had a huge bounce back year, where he was ranked the second best defender according to FotMob with an even 7.00 so maybe he can finally compete for one of the starting CB spots.
Third, sell Nicolás Rodríguez, if he truly wants to go. There was a report that came out saying the young Colombian winger wants to get playing time and if Orlando City can't give it to him, he'd like to leave. I don't blame the kid at all to be honest. I'm not advocating for selling the player but the club has a bit of a log jam on the wings so I'm not sure if he can get the playing time he's looking for unless he spends more time with Orlando City B.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
If Muriel gets bought out and Nico Rodriguez stays, that gives Ricardo a fair amount of roster flexibility at the top end. I would look to immediately fill that last DP spot with a striker who can score goals in buckets/fit the system that the team plays and can contribute. I may not have to wish too much about it since the club as of late has been linked to Richarlison who could fill that void and then some. I know as of late his numbers are gigantic but on the season he has 3 goals and 2 assists in under 1000 minutes. The biggest question is his health, he missed 20 games last year due to calf and hamstring injuries. The club should do their due diligence on his injuries. The article also mentioned that the club put out a $10 million yearly salary with additional bonuses and media deals.
If the club doesn't use the DP spot on a striker, they could look to getting a LW or even a #10 on a DP deal. I'm a good bit out on using that on a #10 since I think Ojeda has done a great job there, just a potential spot the team could look towards.
When looking at the U22 spots, I was going to recommend the team go after another CDM since Cesar is most likely leaving and apparently they are one step ahead of me. It came out this week that the club has been down in Brazil looking at Luis Otávio who plays for Internacional. The 18 year old just started getting quality minutes with the first team and is looked at by the media in Brazil as an upcoming young star.
For the other U22 spot, the club could go in a few different directions. I would potentially look at a young striker, if the team can't get Justin Ellis on a Homegrown deal. If he were to take it, we could look for Box-to-Box guy or even a defender who is up and coming. I wouldn't look at the wings for this spot since we seem to have tons of players at those spots.
The defense, including the keeper, needs to be a focus for Ricardo this offseason. With Jansson being another year older, Schlegel just being okay, and Freeman potentially on the move, there is a lot of work to be done on the back line. I would see what the club has in Zakaria Taifi. In the limited minutes he had with the first team, he seemed to fit the part. His time with OCB last year was also pretty solid so the team could have its next right back already. I would still make sure there's a veteran backup there (if Smith isn't back then someone else). In terms of CB's, the club needs to hit on a quality centerback signing-easier said then done with this front office's history. However, now I think it's key that they hit on a high quality center back to bring them over the top.
To solve both the center back and goalkeeper problems, the club could look within the league to make those fixes. With the new mechanism of paying transfer fees for players, it opens some doors for the club to get better.
For keepers, Carlos Coronel, Maxime Crépeau, Zac MacMath, Stefan Frei are all keepers out of contract that the club could kick the tires on. There are a few keepers that could be available if their option is declined. Keepers like Drake Callender, David Ochoa, John Pulskamp, Mason Stajduhar, and Sean Johnson could all come available. Coronel, Callendar, and Johnson are all keepers I would take a serious look at depending on money and how much they have left. They could also be solid choices to either compete for the starting spot or be a good backup to Otero if the team decides to go that way.
For center backs, Rudy Camacho, Walker Zimmerman, Dario Župarić, Jon Bell, Henry Kessler, Damion Lowe are all out of contract. Brendan Hines-Ike, Julio Cascante, Bill Tuiloma, Jack Elliott, Matt Miazga, Sebastien Ibeagha, Michael Boxall, Wyatt Omsberg, Thiago Martins, Sean Nealis, Tim Parker, Rodrigues, Yeimar Gómez Andrade could all be available if their options are declined. There's a few CB's on that list that would be interesting. If the club wants to spend money on a CB they should definitely go after Zimmerman or Miazga, both would be the top of that list. On the cheaper end, Hines-Ike, Tuiloma, Elliott, Nealis are all guys the club could look at and could make an impact pretty quickly.
Here are some wish list candidates I would check to see how much they cost and would immediately make a difference for the club. Two names pop off the page and they happen to play the same spot of central midfield. Sebastian Berhalter and Daniel Pereira both play an 8/ball playing 6. They both have had great seasons for their clubs and Berhalter even made MLS Best XI. They both have excellent distribution and boss the game in the midfield, with Berhalter being a bit more active in ball winning. They both are in option years but even if their clubs pick the options up, I would call to see what the price would be and offer each a raise to sweeten the deal. If either get their options declined, Ricardo should pick up the phone immediately. The last candidate I'll mention is not a specific name but just a member of that unit. Philadelphia had the lowest amount of goals conceded this year and have had some of the lowest goals conceded over the last few seasons. I would see if there is a center back they would be willing to part with. I doubt it would be Jakob Glesnes (as much as I'd love that) but maybe Makhanya or Glavinovich-they would have to get him from Old Boy's.
Conclusion
Though this post will probably be obsolete in a few short days, its length truly shows how much work this team needs to do before next season. With the World Cup next year there is a prediction that the season could start earlier in order to be at a certain point by the World Cup break.
Notice there is one thing I didn't mention throughout this post, Oscar Parjea. All my followers and friends know that by the end of the season, I was/am an "Oscar Out" guy. But I'm not going to storm the Front Office if he isn't. What I will say is this, the club is taking a risk by holding on to Oscar for another year. I understand he got a new deal and that it would be a decent amount of money to buy out. But if your club is serious about winning and winning trophies, you make the moves that are necessary. I will go into next year with the hope the team can turn it around but Papi is on a short leash. I will also say that if it was Ricardo's decision to hold on to Papi then he's tied to him. If Papi fails, so does Ricardo. I have more faith that Ricardo will reload this team and rebuild the spine than I do with Papi figuring out how to get us more hardware. I truly hope I'm wrong...
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