An analysis of the Union’s roster at the start of the 2023 season

As we do every year to start a new Union season, here’s a player-by-player look at the team’s roster. The list at each position is in order of what looks to be the depth chart heading into the campaign, which starts Saturday at Subaru Park against the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free of charge).

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin embraces unprecedented expectations on the Union, and on himself

It all starts here, and not just positionally. He’s Major League Soccer’s best goalkeeper, a leader on and off the field, and ever more clearly the most important player in Union history.

» READ MORE: Why Andre Blake is the most important player in Union history

Matt Freese’s departure to New York City FC means Bendik is now the No. 2 netminder. The 33-year-old hasn’t played in an official game for the Union since Sept. 4, 2021, but his long experience in MLS overall makes up for that.

The Union like what they’ve seen so far from the 6-foot-2, 23-year-old rookie out of High Point University. When the Union took him with their first-round college draft pick in December, it was the first time the team used a draft pick since 2018.

» READ MORE: Holden Trent was the Union's first college draft pick since 2018

Maybe this will be the year when the stalwart veteran gets the respect he deserves from the rest of MLS. He was seconds away from being the MVP of last year’s championship game; unfortunately, he knows better than anyone how things ended.

There are no respect questions here. The big Norwegian with the cannon shot was last year’s MLS Defender of the Year, and looks primed for another strong campaign.

» READ MORE: Jakob Glesnes was last year's MLS Defender of the Year, and Andre Blake was Goalkeeper of the Year

It can be hard to find veteran players who join new teams without guaranteed starting time, but Lowe fits the bill. The 29-year-old Jamaican, acquired from Inter Miami this winter, is friends and national team colleagues with Blake, and met Curtin a decade ago as an amateur.

Even if he’s a backup, Lowe should be on the field plenty, with 50-plus games on the schedue this year and Curtin wanting to play three-back setups more often.

» READ MORE: Union trade for Damion Lowe, a central defender from Inter Miami

He’s as big-time a defensive prospect as the Union academy has ever produced, and that’s saying something for a team that produced Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty. How much he plays this year will be a fascinating question. The Union want to play him, but 18-year-old centerbacks are a gamble in the pros.

A better bet is that the native of Northeast Philly’s Morrell Park should go to the under-20 World Cup in May and June, and face some of the world’s top future stars.

» READ MORE: Born to soccer, Northeast Philly's Brandan Craig and Quinn Sullivan aim for the 2026 World Cup

Last fall, he became the first active Union player to make a World Cup team. Unfortunately, he never got on the field for Cameroon in Qatar. But he played well for the Union, after losing and earning back the starting job over the course of the 2022 season.

If he keeps improving this year, his national team should keep calling – and European clubs will too.

» READ MORE: Olivier Mbaizo becomes the first active Union player to make a World Cup team

Mbaizo is a better attacker than defender. Harriel is a better defender than attacker. For as much as Union manager Jim Curtin likes to have a consistent starting back line, he knows there are too many games this year for that to be possible.

Fortunately, Curtin can deploy either player based on matchups. And if Mbaizo is sold this summer, Harriel is good enough to be the No. 1.

After a third straight offseason without him moving to Europe, Union fans know to appreciate the best left back in the league. This is the last year of his contract, which means either he moves abroad this summer or signs a new deal.

It’s hard to believe he’d leave for nothing as a free agent after this year, unless relations really break down.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner knows he has a decision to make about staying with the Union

At the end of 2021, it seemed the Drexel Hill native and the team he grew up with would move on from each other. Instead, Real stayed here for 2022, and this winter he signed a new long-term contract. As an added bonus to his skill at left back, he can play centerback in a pinch.

» READ MORE: Union re-sign defender Matt Real to two-year deal

The 20-year-old joined the first team last year as a high-ceiling prospect, but didn’t step up enough to play for it. At least he played a lot for the reserve squad. We’ll see if he improves this season.

Yes, it gets annoying when his big tackles draw yellow card after yellow card. But it’s the plays that don’t get noticed that make him indispensable, especially the passes that launch the rest of the midfield forward for attacks.

» READ MORE: The wizard of Subaru Park, José Andrés Martínez is a main ingredient of the Union’s success

A quiet signing last summer, he showed glimpses of serious potential. Let’s see if he can make more progress this year.

The Union’s longtime captain enters his seventh season with the club, and at age 35 – to be 36 in late April – likely his last. He deserves all the flowers he will get, and enough rest over the course of the year to have a full gas tank come the playoffs.

» READ MORE: Alejandro Bedoya enjoyed a career renaissance last year until a late-season injury

The Union have often been dogged by criticism that they don’t have individual players worth watching. This year, they can cast it off. At just 19, McGlynn already has elite passing and tempo-setting skills on the ball, honed in the Union’s now-famed youth academy.

He won’t be with the Union forever; as with Brenden and Paxten Aaronson, he’ll head to Europe’s big stage in the future. But he’ll be with the Union this year, and he’ll be worth watching every minute he plays.

Scouts who know are ready. The U.S. national team program is ready – it will call him to the under-20 World Cup, and perhaps to the senior team for this summer’s Gold Cup. Union fans who know are ready, too. If you want to watch a rising star blossom in real time, now’s your chance.

» READ MORE: The Union have rarely had must-watch players. Jack McGlynn is one right now.

His defensive skills are great. His positional versatility is a great asset, especially heading into a year when the Union want to vary their formations. His attacking skills are — well, they improved last year, let’s put it that way. But if they continue improving, it will be a big help. Maybe he’ll score another goal or two, after his unlikely winner against Cincinnati in last year’s playoffs.

Of the Union’s three winter signings from within MLS, a 22-year-old with a two-way skill set and a senior U.S. cap in his back pocket wasn’t the biggest one. But Curtin and Ernst Tanner think they’ve snatched a gem from under Orlando City’s nose, and many rival scouts agree.

» READ MORE: More on the Union's trade for Andrés Perea

This is his third year with the Union, and it started with questions on whether his time here was running out. But a string of impressive preseason performances gave answers, earning praise from Curtin. Now to see if it earns him real playing time.

It feels unfair to expect a repeat of last year’s record-crushing 24-goal campaign. But the fact that the Union’s top midfield playmaker is capable of scoring that often is crucial to the team’s attacking identity.

What’s certain is that Gazdag isn’t under the radar anymore. As his new contract and raise to Designated Player status show, he’s big-time now, and the Union’s opponents will treat him as such.

» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag might not have been the Union's most valuable player last year, but he was their most outstanding player

After Paxten Aaronson moved to Germany, Tanner projected Sullivan to be Gazdag’s chief backup to start the year. So we’ll put him here for now, even though he can – and likely will – play multiple positions this year.

Sullivan is also a candidate to make the U.S. under-20 World Cup team, though he might get boxed out if the squad gets bigger attacking names from European clubs.

» READ MORE: Four Union players led the U.S. men’s soccer team to end its 16-year Olympics drought

Also capable of playing as a forward, he’ll probably get more minutes with the reserve squad than the first team.

After an injury- and visa-issue-marred start to his first Union season, the big Dane has had a full preseason here on and off the field. Tanner told The Inquirer last fall that he thinks Uhre can score 20 goals this year, and he’s not alone. Uhre believes it too.

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre aims for a 20-goal season in his second year with the Union

His 15-goal, seven-assist campaign last year made him one of the all-time trade heists in MLS history. Yes, the Union had a shot at signing him because Inter Miami broke salary cap rules, but once they had him they didn’t look back. Nor did he. Another year with similar stats seems easily possible for Carranza.

» READ MORE: Union forward Julián Carranza has found a home with Philly as the team hits new heights

If Perea’s arrival symbolizes the Union’s desire to diversify their midfield tactics, Torres’ arrival from CF Montréal symbolizes it for the forwards. On paper, he’s a winger; in reality, he can play in a three-man or two-man front. A delightful goal in a full-strength preseason win over Cincinnati showed his potential.

» READ MORE: Joaquín Torres leads the Union to a lively 3-1 preseason win over FC Cincinnati

He had eight goals for the Union’s reserve squad last year, but only a handful of minutes for the first team and didn’t show much in them.

The Union’s academy has produced serious players at every position except the most difficult one to excel at: striker. Pierre could be the first. The 17-year-old was born in Lebanon, Pa., grew up in Harrisburg, and drew scouts’ eyes with the Union’s reserves last year. He got a taste of first-team life in last September’s exhibition game against Mexico’s Pachuca.

» READ MORE: Union striker prospect Nelson Pierre earns a promotion to MLS at age 17

A quirk in MLS’s roster rules led the Union to draft a player from their own reserve team. He’s likely to spend most of this year with the reserves too, and we’ll see what happens from there.