Roster Outlook

Goalkeepers

The starting keeper position is kind of down to either Joe Willis or Tyler Deric. The organization has catered towards Deric in the past and while Willis held the job for a large part of last year it’s probably still Deric’s job to lose. Despite that, Willis is a starting caliber keeper in MLS.

Centerbacks

Central defense has been a precarious position for Houston over the last few years. Really, in a lot of ways, it’s been a sore spot since Bobby Boswell left in 2014 and five years later it doesn’t really look very much better. Adding Struna is without a doubt the biggest addition of the off-season but I’m not really sure as to his quality and by himself he isn’t going to make things much better. He’ll without a doubt improve things, but the team needs Fuenmayor to take a step forward defensively and cut down on the amount of mental mistakes.

Maynor Figureroa should also up the bar with his veteran presence, but he too isn’t going to really fix things. He’s a solid defensive player and a move from left back into the center is probably something that’s been coming for a while. But while he’s been solid down that left side, I’m not sure I believe in his ability to handle the more athletic attackers. At 35 it has to be asked, how much does he have in the tank? They may end up depending on Kevin Garcia who will be the 4th CB.

I’d be a bit remiss in this if I didn’t mention homegrown Erik McCue. They seem very excited about him and his potential, but he just turned 18 and I honestly am not sure he’s ready for more than an emergency start. I tend to think he’ll spend more time down at Rio Grande Valley.

This is, without a doubt, the weakest aspect of Houston’s roster and while I give Matt Jordan some credit for the moves he’s made over the last couple of years, I have to wonder when he’s going to give this position some serious attention.

Fullbacks

Speaking of attention, the team desperately needed help on the right flank. Despite their flurry of moves and the general squad improvement, I’m not sure they have a starting caliber one. Number one on the depth charts appears to be A.J. DeLaGarza, who was injured the majority of last year and had all of 360 minutes on the field. His injuries last year and his age (31) does lead to questions about his viability to remain an outside back and, considering the present depth, if he doesn’t profile better at centerback at this stage of his career.

The alternate option is Chris Duvall. Duvall was traded from Montreal this past off-season and has long been a favorite of mine simply because I adore speedy full backs who have a propensity to get forward, overlap, and cut into the box. But he can be a defensive liability too, and ran out of rope in Montreal due to his tardiness in tracking back once he gets forward.

A (very) dark horse candidate could also be Superdraft pick-up Andrew Samuels from the University of Maryland. The team seems particularly keen on 21-year old, especially considering they traded Seitz to get him in the Superdraft. He’s still very green and has more than a few edges of his game to round out.

Over on the other side of the field, the left back position will most likely be fielded once more by the forever young DaMarcus Beasley, returning for his 20th season in professional soccer. Beasley has been perhaps one of the better left backs in MLS the last couple of years and despite turning 36 still isn’t really slowing down. Of course he’s lost a step or two since his days of being dynamic attacker and he’s absolutely prone to an injury or two during the season, but he’s countered those with really learning the position and understanding when to pick his times to burst forward.

Beasley will be backed up by swede Adam Lundkvist who will look to get about 1000-1500 minutes if you include US Open Cup and CCL games, and the occasional Beasley injury and resting periods that will inevitably occur during the season.

Wide Midfielders

The Houston Dynamo boast the best winger duo in MLS with Romell Quioto on the left and Alberth Elis on the right. Quioto’s possibly one of the most complete wingers in the league with his ability to use his speed to beat opponents one-v-one while maintaining the ability to carve up defenses with his creative passing ability. That said, he certainly can and will create shots on his own, too.

Elis, on the other side of the field, is probably one of the most enigmatic player's in Major League Soccer. He was scoring goals at will to start the 2017 season and for a while was even on a pace to shatter the single season non-penalty goals record. However, while he slowed down as the season progressed, the underlying numbers remained impressive.

Elis has the ability to beat any player in MLS and his top speed is perhaps among the very elite this league has. He’s the best consistent shot creator from the wing in MLS, and he still has the potential to get better, not to mention to see those advanced numbers become reality.

The additions of Marlon Hairston and the continued growth of Memo Rodriguez provide solid depth to both of these positions, as Wilmer Crabera will need it with the US Open Cup and pending international call-ups that will happen.

Central Midfielders

Juan David Cabezas was one of the biggest holes for Houston’s starting line-up in 2018. his tenacious defensive approach and wily passing ability on the counter made him one of the most underrated defensive midfielders in the league in 2017, so they’re glad to have him back in 2019. His injury just fifteen minutes into the 2018 season was tragic, but so was his recovery timeline which saw delay after delay.

Cabezas looks to be paired with Matias Vera and gives the team a second strong and defensive midfielder, which will assuredly help with covering ground in the defensive third and free up Tomas Martinez to possibly play a bit more of a free creative attacking role. Their depth consists of veterans Darwin Ceren and Oscar Boniek Garcia in addition to adding Tommy MacNamara to the fold.

Forwards

Houston boasts one of the best young forward options in the league, Mauro Manotas. The young Colombian has done a lot over the last two years to earn the spot and is now starting to attract interest from teams abroad. It would probably behoove the cash strapped team to sell high on Manotas sooner rather than later, but his high level combination of skill and potential make him a difficult to piece to see go.

He’s an extremely effective scorer and being surrounded by the likes of Martinez, Elis and Quioto only amplifies his talent. The real question for Houston over the last 12 months has been what to do when Manotas isn’t available. The answer has often been to shift either Quioto or Elis out of their most effective spaces to place them further up the pitch.

The addition of Ronaldo Peña at mid-season last year wasn’t a huge acquisition, but it finally gave the team a potentially solid alternative option behind Manotas and, depending on how he continues to perform, may give Jordan and the front office flexibility at the bargaining table in dealing with some of the interested clubs that will be calling for Manotas this summer.