New England Revolution Announce End of Year Roster Decisions
The club made the announcement ahead of Friday's deadline.
The New England Revolution announced their end-of-season roster decisions and while there are a lot of faces returning, some players will be moving on from the club.
Six players had their team options extended for the 2024 season: Andrew Farrell, Carles Gil, Jacob Jackson, Damian Rivera, Ryan Spaulding and Ian Harkes. In Ian Harkes’ case, his team option is for two years, so his contract is also guaranteed for the 2025 season.
Five players had their options declined: Emmanuel Boateng, Maciel, Christian Makoun, Ben Reveno and Ben Sweat.
For 17 other players, no decision was made today as they have guaranteed contracts for 2024: Esmir Bajraktarevic, Joshua Bolman, Dylan Borrero, Noel Buck, Brandon Bye, Earl Edwards Jr., DeJuan Jones, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Henry Kessler, Tommy McNamara, Nacho Gil, Jack Panayotou, Matt Polster, Dave Romney, Tomas Vaclik, Giacomo Vrioni and Bobby Wood.
Three players, Gustavo Bou, Omar Gonzalez and Justin Rennicks had their contracts expire and they are eligible for MLS free agency.
For the players with options exercised, there were few surprises. One question mark was Ryan Spaulding as he received a reduction in playing time towards the end of the season and upcoming prospect Peyton Miller joining the first team for 2024, but the team doesn’t seem ready to move on from the left back who will enter his third season with team.
Amongst the contracts declined, there similarly were not a lot of surprises here. Boateng may be the biggest head turner, but this marks the second consecutive year his option was declined by the Revolution. He returned to the team on a supplemental roster contract after going on trial with the team in preseason in 2023.
Maciel could also be seen as a bit of a surprise as the Brazilian recovered this season from an achilles injury and is just 23 years old. The midfielder seems to have some good years of soccer ahead of him but the club decided not to bring him back.
For the players out of contract, the Revolution’s press release states the three players could return to the club on new agreements, but it looks unlikely any will return, including Gustavo Bou.
“Gustavo has been a really valuable player for us since 2019; he’s been very productive when he’s been healthy and available to play,” Sporting Director Curt Onalfo told Frank' Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe. “Obviously, without having a DP spot, it makes things more difficult to keep a player of his caliber around.”
Gonzalez could still be a viable veteran option for the team in a depth role, but after his blunt comments to The Blazing Musket following the Revolution’s elimination in the playoffs, it’s hard to see him coming back to the organization.
With these moves, the Revolution roster stands at 27 players in total, with homegrown players Peyton Miller, Santiago Suarez and Malcolm Fry all being elevated to the first team in 2024. The offseason trade window opens on December 11, when Nick Lima is expected to join the team, bringing the expected roster to 28.
Additional moves can be expected before the new year, as December will see end-of-year waivers (December 12), the beginning of free agency (December 13), the re-entry draft (December 14) and the SuperDraft (December 19).
Hard to see what the Revs gain (other than an open roster spot) by playing this game with Boateng again. Maybe it's just to let the new coach decide whether he wants him or not.
But, they've squeezed the poor guy into a pitifully low salary, while he's done nothing but be a good soldier and performed well when called upon.
How this team treats Emmanuel Boateng is mystifying.