Thoughts on the NYCFC roster decisions for the 2025 season

It took New York City FC some time, but the club has finally announced the end-of-the-year roster decisions as the team begins to build for 2025. Normally, teams usually announce the options picked up or declined within a few days of the end of the regular season or their elimination from the MLS Cup Playoffs. However, it was almost two weeks since the Pigeons were knocked out by the New York Red Bulls when the decisions were announced.

Until Thursday, the only person fans knew was not coming back was Nick Cushing. Now, NYCFC announced that they had picked up the roster options for four players: Thiago Andrade, Luis Barraza, Alex Rando, and Tomás Romero. The only player the team declined was the option on Rio Hope-Gund. Since this was a quiet year for options, the decisions by the club mostly made sense.

NYCFC's roster decisions were mostly the right moves

Hope-Gund did not make an appearance with the first team but played for NYCFC II throughout the year. Possibly, he did not do enough in training to get his option picked up, but this made sense. In addition, picking up Thiago's option was also understandable. His loan to Shenzhen Peng City F.C. ends at the end of the month, so perhaps the team wants to see what he will do with a new head coach. Maybe, there is a team that would be willing to sign him and the Pigeons can make some money.

The decisions that were interesting were the goalkeepers. All three keepers who had an option for 2025 were picked up. Rando might have played with the MLS Next Pro team, but truthfully, there is no need to have four goalkeepers on the roster. Money-wise, it would have made sense to part ways with Barraza. He also struggled in his appearances this season.

Rando and Romero are talented and they could compete for the backup role. Then, if Romero won the spot, Rando could still play for NYCFC II in 2025. It would be nice to have someone who is slightly more reliable if Freese was unavailable at any time. Barraza is beloved by his teammates and is well-liked, but the Bronx side should move on.

Meanwhile, NYCFC noted that Maxi Moralez is out of options, but "remains in discussions" about a possible new contract. This is good news since the midfielder can still play at a high level. It would be nice for him to play one more season with the Boys in Blue before he retires.

Overall, the end-of-the-year roster decisions were the correct moves. Again, one can argue about the goalkeepers, but the Pigeons might have a plan for one of them. Fans can expect more moves to be made as the offseason progresses for NYCFC.