Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union Communications
With the Philadelphia Union’s season concluded and the club undergoing a self-declared roster transition, we are expanding our usual end-of-year analysis of younger professional prospects to also include the first team as well.
Our predictions about future actions when choices are available are essentially guesswork.
The Philadelphia Union organization’s roster has two major subdivisions at the professional level. Each of these subdivisions is further divided into three parts. Throughout this series, we will present several articles that either combine or further break down these roster components to make them more manageable. We will conclude the series with an estimated depth chart of the organization’s professional players.
We will consider all 33 first-team players – click here for MLS’s official fall roster profile – as well as the 26 Union II players we estimate have qualified for the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs.
Superscript explanations
There is an overlap between the two groups. According to our criteria, eight first-team players appear in both squads, indicated by (*). Additionally, three other first-team players have had game minutes and appearances with Union II, but these are insufficient for playoff participation, marked by (%). These three will be considered as only first-team players.
First-team players who were unavailable for the entire season are marked as (U) and will be discussed using only the most rudimentary of performance data. Among the eight players with overlaps, three did not receive any first-team game minutes. The number of times they dressed is noted in parentheses next to their names (N). One player on loan to the Union, with a purchase option, is indicated in brackets, [John Doe].
One first-team player spent the entire season injured and focused on recovery and rehabilitation, marked as (I).
Furthermore, one current second-team player participated in some Leagues Cup matches on short-term agreements but never entered the field, as indicated by (#). The end-of-season “zero-dollar” contract amateurs listed with the second team did have actual game minutes. We excluded reserve goalkeepers who only sat on the bench.
(Editor’s note: The article was composed and edited before Holden Trent’s death had become public knowledge.)
| First Team | Union II | ||||
| Free Agents | 2025 Options | Guaranteed for 2025 | First Team Contracts | Union II Contracts | “Zero-dollar” Contracts |
| 3 | 9 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Adeniran | Trent% | Uhre | Makhanya | Westfield# | LeBlanc |
| Flach | LeFloreI | Baribo | Vazquez | Tucker | Wetzel |
| Bedoya | Q. Sullivan | Gazdag | Pariano | Rojas | Griffin |
| Mbaizo | Donovan% | Anderson | Soria | Mastrodimos | |
| Elliott | Anderson* | Olney | Sheridan | Davis | |
| [Berdecio]* | Rafanello | Rick | Sequera | Johnson | |
| CraigU | C. Sullivan* | C. Sullivan | Meneses | Bernstein | |
| TorresU | Olney* | Berdecio | Olivas | Rocio | |
| RealU | McGlynn | Neil Pierre | |||
| Jean Jacques | Riasco | ||||
| Bueno | |||||
| Wagner | |||||
| Harriel | |||||
| Glesnes | |||||
| Blake | |||||
| Rick* | |||||
| Semmle% | |||||
| Nels. Pierre(U) | |||||
| (Makhanya)*20 | |||||
| (Vazquez)*5 | |||||
| (Pariano)*1 | |||||
The initial group of discussions will focus on the “Stay-or-Go” decisions regarding individual players.
Free agents
Each of the three free agents has the right to leave, even if the club would like them to return.
Alejandro Bedoya, free agent: Right midfielder. By the end of the season, the captain will be 37 ½. At the beginning of the year, he still performed some magic, combining well with Mbaizo, Gazdag, Carranza, and Uhre. His minutes were managed less profligately this season. However, by October, he seemed tired and half a step slower. Unless he still has a role in mentoring the teenage midfielders, it is probably time to hold a ceremony for the Ring of Honor, placing him alongside Le Toux, and to raise funds for a statue in front of the flagpoles in the plaza. His tenure has transformed the franchise.
Sam Adeniran, free agent: Striker. The mid-July replacement for the departed Julian Carranza started twice early in the Leagues Cup but was mostly the third striker off the bench. He filled the relief role at Chris Donovan’s expense, likely because the organization needed ample evaluation minutes to make a decision. They can assess 14 appearances, but only 340 minutes, which is fewer than desired for evaluating academy players for Union II or the Union itself. Adeniran has never reached match fitness for 90 minutes.
Like Donovan, his annual salary is under $100,000, but he is nearly two years older than the Conestoga and Drexel alum.
Since none of the Union II strikers have dominated MLS NEXT Pro play as thoroughly as Donovan has, we suspect Adeniran might be offered a one-year contract with an option for an additional year. This would provide a better evaluation opportunity and serve as a depth piece while Union II’s professionals and amateurs continue their development at lower levels. Whether he can secure higher pay elsewhere, we cannot determine. If he receives such offers, he is free to accept them.
Leon Flach, free agent: left midfielder. We have no way to assess Flach’s interest in remaining with Philadelphia, and there is no information about other teams’ interest in acquiring him in the soccer world. At 23.6 years old and with only three years of MLS service, he is not eligible to become a free agent.
Club options
There are ten first-team players whose “stay or go” decisions are pending, with the final choice resting with the club. Additionally, three options for 2025 will be declined.
Holden Trent, 2025 club option. Goalkeeper. Trent, whose 2025 club option is under consideration, faced a thumb injury during preseason that took several months to heal. Recently, he suffered another hand injury, referred to as a finger injury; it’s unclear if it’s on the same hand. In 2024, he played only one full match for Union II.
Trent has been the fourth goalkeeper signed to the first team, marking the first time in memory that the team has carried four goalkeepers instead of the usual three or sometimes just two.
Since both Andrew Rick (540 minutes in play) and Oliver Semmle (1,412 minutes in play) have already taken the field this season, while Trent has not played, he appears to be surplus to requirements. Therefore, his option will not be exercised.
Joaquin Torres, 2025 club option. Right winger. Torres has been on loan to Universidad Católica FC in Chile’s top professional league since the middle of the 2024 preseason. During the Chilean 2023-24 season, he primarily played as a substitute, making only two starts and nine appearances, while also being part of the squad six additional times without playing. He was consistently included in the squad.
Since resumption of play for the 2024-25 season, Torres has continued in a similar role but has not been part of the game day squad since August 3. It is unclear if this is due to the coach’s decision or if he is injured, although there are suspicions that the 27.7-year-old may be injured.
Torres’ option with Union will not be exercised for 2025, allowing Universidad Católica to potentially sign him as a free agent on a free transfer.
Matt Real, 2025 club option. Left back. Real has been on loan to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks of the USL Championship, the second division of the United States soccer hierarchy. His coach is James Chambers, a former defensive midfielder and captain of Bethlehem Steel FC, and his technical director is Steve Hogan, a former assistant coach at Bethlehem.
Since April 20, Real has started 23 out of 26 games. After he joined the team, the Switchbacks turned around a poor start and improved their standings in the league. Currently, they are in 4th place in the Western Conference and have secured a playoff spot with one game remaining in the regular season.
The option for Real’s contract in 2025 will not be exercised. It is anticipated that Union II professional Frank Westfield will sign a homegrown contract in the offseason to replace him, alongside the rehabilitating Isaiah LeFlore, who will be discussed below.
Four options will probably be exercised
Isaiah LeFlore, 2025 Club option. Left back. The details of LeFlore’s Union story are hard to discern. At this writing, Major League Soccer’s “Player Availability Report” list him as “Out” and say “Knee” in parenthesis next to it. Unofficial sources suggest that he may have been injured even before the team left for preseason in Clearwater, potentially on the first day. As of now, he is 21.9 years old, making him nearly six years younger than Kai Wagner and three years older than Frank Westfield. At the time of LeFlore’s signing, Westfield’s breakout season was anticipated rather than confirmed.
On Thursday, October 3rd, while observing Union II practice on one of the three full-sized grass fields, PSP noticed a player sprinting the full length of the field closest to the old power station. It was reported that this player was LeFlore. He was running in a straight line without changing direction, which could indicate post-surgical recovery, considering his knee surgery approximately eight and a half months prior.
No one within the organization has seen him play soccer in person this year. The only available data on LeFlore is from his time with Houston in 2023 in MLS NEXT Pro’s western conference. That publicly available data is part of why the Union signed him.
In 2023 LeFlore appeared in 25 out of 28 games, having started 17 of them, and totaling 1778 minutes, including one playoff game. He led his team with 52 intercepted passes, while the next closest player had only 27. Also, he recorded six assists as a left back, but on a less favorable note, he also accumulated two red cards. He ranked fourth for key passes and sixth in total minutes. However, given the Union’s playing style, it is noteworthy that he was only the 12th-most accurate on long passes.
The crucial decision-making statistics concerning ground coverage, sprint speed, and frequency of sprints remain proprietary to the Union. It seems a fair assumption that they had to meet Ernst Tanner’s standards for him to have been signed, especially considering his older age.
We anticipate that LeFlore will have an opportunity to play professionally in the Union organization next year, likely starting with Union II as he continues to recover from what appears to have been significant knee surgery. This recovery path would be similar to that taken by left center back Gino Portella a few years ago.
Jamir Berdecio, 2025 option if his purchase option is exercised. Right back and defensive midfielder. Berdecio’s 2025 roster status is the most complex to decipher among all the 2024 first-team contracts.
This year he is on loan from Bolivian first division side CD Oriente Petrolero with an option to purchase. If he is purchased, the Union would hold options that run through 2028. His annualized salary for 2024 is $89,716, which is the minimum for a senior supplemental reserve roster player.
Two key details are unknown. Are the terms of his purchase option already set or are they negotiable? And, does his Bolivian club want or need him back?
After his initial evaluation period, he has spent the season with Union II, participating in all game minutes and training for the last several months.
We believe he demonstrates at least some of the basic athleticism and mentality that Philadelphia needs in a first team player. He possesses good sprint speed, quickness, agility, and aggressiveness. His endurance has clearly improved over the season, both in terms of ground coverage and sprint frequency. Moreover, he has become quicker at recognizing cues within Philadelphia’s playing system.
However, he continues to make mistakes as a right back for Union II. This is not surprising since he is being repurposed from a midfield position. Gavin Wetzel is the preferred choice at right back for games against stronger teams, unless he is needed in another role. In those matches, Berdecio is often trusted to play as part of a double six.
At 22.2 years old, he is older than the typical age for player development projects within the Union. When he was acquired, the organization was unaware that it would have the opportunity to sign either David Vazquez or Cavan Sullivan. Now that those signings have occurred, the question arises: Does Berdecio still have a role within the team? Can decisions about his future be postponed until the situations of other midfield players, such as Flach and McGlynn, become clearer? What would be the cost to buy him? It would need to be reasonable for the Union to proceed.
Given that he is being repurposed and shows the basic athleticism and mentality that the Union values, our guess is that he will return for the 2025 season. However, we could easily be mistaken in our assumptions.
It is certain that these three options will be exercised.
Quinn Sullivan, 2025 option. Right midfielder. These days the older Sullivan seems the obvious successor to Bedoya as the right vertex of the first-team’s narrow diamond. As such it seems certain the club will exercise his option. He has improved his individual dribbling skills, although not to the point that he is a threat against an elite MLS one v one defender.
Re-signing him sometime next year seems like a no-brainer. [Post-publication note: the Union announced October 23rd that they had signed Sullivan to a new contract guaranteed through 2027 with an option for 2028.]
Olivier Mbaizo, 2025 option. Right back. Exercising Mbaizo’s option for next year seems obvious, given the lack of outside back depth among the organization’s professional teams.
Jack Elliott, 2025 option. Left center back. Exercising Elliott’s option for next season is the easiest, most obvious end-of-year roster decision before the Union.
Brandan Craig, 2025 option. Right center back. Craig spent the season on loan to El Paso Locomotive of the USL Championship’s western conference.
Of the 33 games played so far, Craig has not been in the squad for two consecutive game sequences, six and seven matches respectively. We know the first sequence occurred because of injury. We suspect the second might also, but cannot confirm our assumption since his absence corresponds to a formation change. Of the other 20 matches, including one in the Open Cup, Craig started 16, substituted twice and sat the bench twice. We estimate he must have accumulated between 1,400 and 1,500 minutes.
Although El Paso did not excel in the USL Championship and experienced a midseason coaching change, Craig gained valuable experience in a league that offers a higher level of competition than MLS NEXT Pro. It is highly likely that the Union will exercise his option for 2025, bringing him back for preseason as a reserve center back. If he were recovering from a long-term injury, past behavior indicates that the team would keep him on to facilitate his healing. They have not previously released players who were still injured.
NEXT TIME: First team 2025 guaranteed attackers.
nice evaluation. considering this team isn’t going anywhere next season, i would bring Ale back in a mentoring roster spot next season. invaluable to have him there. was a shame to have little to no fanfare on Saturday and his family wasn’t able to attend. have a planned retirement and allow fans to celebrate him. i look back over the years with those mentor roster spots and consider it worth one.
Quinn was just re-signed yesterday.
Thanks very much for the write up.