Auston Trusty (center) and the Philadelphia Union lost Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final to the Houston Dynamo, but remain on pace for the club’s best MLS season. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Doug McIntyre’s weekly MLS column, 23 Thoughts, parses through the latest insights and inside info from around American soccer.

The news item that caught the most attention inside MLS circles this week was Sam Stejskal’s report that the league is discussing — or to be more accurate, that a few financially conservative owners would like the league to consider — reducing the number of available designated player spots from three per team to two.

Here’s another bit of news: multiple sources have confirmed to Yahoo Sports that MLS and its Players Union have quietly been discussing either ripping up the collective bargaining agreement that was signed in 2015 and expires in March of 2020 or, and I’ve been led to believe this is the likelier scenario, making significant changes to (and presumably extending) the current pact.

When I first heard this I wasn’t sure it was true. The last two CBAs where both agreed upon at the 11th hour after bitter public sparring between the union and the league, with the prospect of a labor stoppage looming. That’s usually how this goes in other sports, too. Things tend to go down to the wire because that’s when both sides believe they have the most leverage.

After making some calls, it became clear that not only is some sort of revamp possible, but it has been in the works for a while.

“I think its beneficial for both sides to get the conversation started early,” one player rep told me this week. “The league sees how much stronger the players association has gotten since the last negotiation. There’s a bigger staff, there’s more commitment from the players, there’s more understanding of the issues. Because of that, both sides understand that it’s not going to be something that we want to leave until the last two weeks. I don’t think that was beneficial, at least to our side, last time.”

There is no guarantee a deal gets done early. It could drag on until the end once again. But it’s interesting this is even on the docket more than a full year ahead of time.

1. These two big off-field stories are related. There’s no way a reduction in the number of available DPs spots — a dreadful and depressing proposal that I’m told, thankfully, is nowhere near actually hppening — gets done without the MLSPU’s blessing, either in 2020 or before. “The league has clearly been thinking of ways to restructure” its spending on player salaries, the same player rep said. Payrolls have risen considerably since 2015. “If they want to bring in money, they can bring in money. But if they want to get rid of a DP slot they’d have to speak to the union about it, because it’s in the CBA.”

2. Limited free agency was the players’ big win last time around, with veterans 28 years and older and with eight years of MLS service able to shop themselves within the league when their contracts expire. My understanding is that if the sides agree on a new/tweaked CBA early, the free agency threshold would drop to 26 and six.

3. My sense is if anything happens, it will be sooner than later. Just a practical matter, one would think teams would have to know the rulesin order to make informed roster decisions heading into the offseason.

4. Here’s hoping that the Houston Dynamo’s convincing 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Union in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final can help the club lure back some of the fans it seems to have lost since winning back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and ’07, its first two seasons in Houston. The Dynamo are going to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons this year, and they’re 17th out of 23 teams in attendance despite having a downtown stadium in the USA’s fourth-largest city. Houston is averaging 16,743 fans this year. They drew more than 20,000 per game in the four seasons after BBVA Compass Stadium opened in 2012.

5. Even on TV, the Union’s heartbreak was visceral. Losing three Open Cup finals in five years cuts deep. Still, Philly remains on course for best season yet. That might seem like a backhanded compliment; as in Houston, there’s a sense that Philadelphia, the fifth-largest market in the U.S., has underachieved. Clubs in smaller locales have spent more and have been rewarded for it. It’s fair to criticize chairman Jay Sugarman for that. But the Union also deserve credit for having a long-term plan and sticking to it. That can be difficult to do in professional sports. (Just ask the LA Galaxy).

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