This piece is part of our “State of the Team” series, previewing each MLS squad ahead of the 2020 season. Read the other teams’ stories here.



MLS’s recent expansion history can generally be divided into two buckets. In one, you have teams in major media markets that have spent exorbitantly, using their financial muscle to make an immediate impact on the field. In the other, you have smaller market teams that have looked to carve out results using more strategic means. They have built their rosters around MLS roleplayers, SuperDraft picks and a handful of selections from lower leagues around the world.



Unsurprisingly, the teams in that first bucket — LAFC and Atlanta United — have found immediate success, the latter winning an MLS Cup within their first two years of existence. The more conservative sides have been a much more mixed bag, though. Minnesota United is just now rounding into form, and a team like FC Cincinnati is still...