The last time Gyasi Zardes played for the L.A. Galaxy, he was deployed as a right fullback for the flailing squad helmed by Sigi Schmid.



The Galaxy had been decimated by injuries, and rather than use a young player or a reserve in the role, Schmid decided to use Zardes, a homegrown striker who had scored 16 goals for the team as a 23-year-old, as his fullback.



Looking back, Zardes conceded that “a bunch of injuries” probably contributed to the decision, but he was still puzzled by it.



“It’s tough playing that position,” he said. “I didn’t want to play it, but sometimes you have to just due to the circumstances, and I did that for the team because I’m a team player.”



The Galaxy finished tied for last in MLS in 2017. Zardes scored just two goals in nearly 2,000 minutes.



Eight months later, Zardes is no longer being shoehorned into a fullback role. Instead, he’s leading the line for...