What should the Dynamo do without Hector Herrera?
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
On Friday, general manager Pat Onstad announced on Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis that Hector Herrera will miss the beginning of the season with an injury. He also announced that there is a possibility that Luis Caicedo will also not be returning to the club this season. Both announcements will likely send Dynamo fans into panic mode. Let’s take a look at the possible signings and adjustments that could be made to dig the team out of this early hole.
Role Changes
We all know last season that Ben Olsen set up the team in a box midfield with great success. Herrera and Caicedo both operated in the lower pivot of that box midfield alongside Artur. The first big adjustment that comes to mind would be bringing Coco Carrasquilla into that role to start the year. Coco’s more natural role/position would be in that deeper midfielder role that Herrera plays where he can coordinate the attacks from deeper positions and transition the ball off the dribble. We see him play that role with Panama to great effect. With Coco taking up a deeper role, who starts out wide and partners Bassi at the top of the box midfield? That’s where last year’s late signing Sebastian Kowalczyk comes into play. We have already seen that Sebastian has the work rate and technical ability to cover that winger/attacking-midfield role that Coco played last season. He might even be more effective in that role, being he’s played out wide for Pogon Szczecin in the past. There is also the possibility of Kowalczyk playing that deeper midfield role and Coco staying put out wide. With Coco’s star performances for Panama in that deeper role, I think it’s best for him to be the one to replace Herrera.
Now there could also be a formation change to accommodate the injury. Instead of running a four-man midfield, Ben Olsen can opt for switching to a three-man midfield with more traditional fullbacks and wingers. That can put the team in a position where both Aliyu Ibrahim and Sebas Ferreira can be on the field at the same time. Should the team diverge from the strategy that brought them success last season? I’m not so sure. This would also lower the effectiveness of Griffin Dorsey as he will not be able to make the same type of attacking runs in a more traditional right back role.
New Signings?
Should a new signing be brought in to replace Herrera for the time being? Probably not, but some cover in midfield will be needed with Caicedo also possibly not returning. With the cap restrictions and Caicedo’s contract being on the cheaper side, here are some realistic depth pieces that could come in and do a job.
Junior Moreno and Kellyn Acosta
Let’s start out with the two least realistic of the midfield free agents still available. For whatever reason, these two players are highly regarded and may want more money than the Dynamo will be able to offer. Both players happen to be solid at everything, but not particularly special or weak at any one thing. Both have been good role players for good teams in the past few seasons. Acosta specifically will cost a solid chunk of money with his USMNT past, so these two players might not be worth their price tag. If they can sign team friendly deals, then they might be the best options.
Victor Ulloa and Scott Caldwell
Out of the free agents still available, these two were the first names that came to our minds. They are both rock solid veterans who have played rotation roles for the last handful of seasons. Both players would be extremely cheap and do a job in the case of more injuries and can add to the veteran core in the locker room. Neither player played a ton of minutes in 2023, however.
Emilio Ycaza and Danny Griffin
Bringing in depth options from USL has been a risky move for teams in recent seasons but can prove to be a solid avenue in these desperate times. Unfortunately, Coco’s Panama teammate Carlos Harvey has already signed for Minnesota United. That would have been the best pick out of the USL midfielders last season. The next options that come to mind would be Emilio Ycaza and Danny Griffin. Ycaza already some small links to the Dynamo with him spending a few years at RGV. He was a key player this past year for Charleston as they lost in the finals to Phoenix. Griffin was a solid contributor for a very good Pittsburgh team last year that finished top of the table in the regular season.
Embracing the Youth
The final option would be for the Dynamo to finally give the young players a chance in the team. This is something the club has struggled with for years under multiple head coaches. Brooklyn Raines should see this as a huge opportunity for him to step up in preseason and fight for more minutes in that midfield. Raines only played 202 minutes in MLS last season. Most were coming from a more advanced position where he looked completely lost. We are all still waiting to see if SuperDraft pick Ousmane Sylla will sign a contract with the club. If that does happen, then he is another young candidate to earn some minutes with this situation. While it would be incredible to see Sebastian Rodriguez get more minutes now, it won’t happen this year. The contract he signed was a MLS NEXT Pro contract for the 2024 season. He will only be on an MLS contract come 2025.
This is not the situation we all wanted to see coming into the 2024 season, but fans should have faith in both Ben Olsen and Pat Onstad to come up with a solution. Onstad said that Herrera would only miss a small amount of time in context to how long a full season is. Who knows how long that will be, but remember the season is very long and things can turn around very quickly if the team struggles early without him.
