The Charlotte Independence announced Thursday that they’ve brought in four players on loan from their MLS affiliate, the Colorado Rapids:

Forward Caleb Calvert

Midfielder Ricardo Perez

Defender Sam Vines

and Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.

These moves give the Independence 19 players on the active roster, which makes me think/hope they aren’t quite done signing players for the 2018 campaign.

Caleb Calvert is a known quantity for the Independence. He has appeared 47 times for Charlotte, including this unique performance in 2017. He has found the back of the net nine times for the Jacks and will likely be Mike Jeffries’ first-choice center forward. I presume he will be relied upon to score goals for the Jacks more than he ever has in his previous stints with the club in light of the absence of Enzo Martinez.

Ricardo Perez might play a part in helping to replace Enzo in the midfield. I asked Rapids Rabbi, assistant editor-in-chief of Around MLS, what he thought of Perez:

“The moment I fell in love with Ricardo Perez was February 2017. The Rapids were in preseason in Arizona, and Ricki subbed on late to play at the 10. On his first play, Jared Watts laced a sharp ground pass to him, and Perez received it while turning upfield simultaneously. He then picked out Badji on the wing for a pass and continued his run right into the box. It was a confident, veteran play from a kid who’d been in NCAA soccer 28 days earlier. Perez is a pure number 10. He’s aware, he makes passes, and he’s fairly technical. He probably needs to improve on his overall skill set: chipped passes, shooting, defending from the front. But he’s a very solid creator that can help a team find the game in the attack.”

High praise from the Rabbi there.

Sam Vines joins fellow teenagers Calvin Doum and Daniel Steedman on the 2018 roster. The 18-year-old is a United States Youth National Team member and was recently called up to the US Youth Summit in January as a member of the U-20 squad.

Following that call-up, Vines signed with the Rapids as a home grown player. He spent time in Charlotte on loan towards the end of last season, so this is a great opportunity to build on what he started then and hopefully earn some minutes in the marathon USL season.

Finally, Andrew Dykstra may have to contribute right away as projected starting goalkeeper Brandon Miller is recovering from a thumb injury. Dykstra has previous experience in the USL with the Richmond Kickers, Charleston Battery and, most recently, Swope Park Rangers.

Some may criticize these moves as feeling “minor league,” but pay that no mind. The relationship between these two clubs has been mostly a positive one in the past, and I think these four guys will give the Jacks depth and healthy competition for minutes in 2018, something that perhaps was lacking in certain areas in 2017.