Mender Garcia’s tenure with Minnesota United was underwhelming, and on Friday, the Loons declined the 24-year-old Colombian’s contract for next season.

Mender, who scored four MLS goals in 1,561 minutes since arriving on a Designated Player contract in August 2022, led a list of eight players MNUFC did not renew for the 2024 season. The seven others: Bakaye Dibassy, Jan Gregus, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Fred Emmings, Eric Dick, Emmanuel Iwe and Ryen Jiba, according to the club.

Three players are out of contract: Wil Trapp, Brent Kallman and Cam Dunbar.

But the club said it is in negotiations with Trapp, Tajori-Shradi, Dunbar and Emmings, a homegrown goalkeeper from St. Paul.

The Loons exercised options on five players: Michael Boxall, Kevin Arriaga, Joseph Rosales, Zarek Valentin and Tani Oluwaseyi. The complete current roster of 21 players is listed below.

CEO Shari Ballard told reporters on Nov. 15 that while new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad is still working for English club Barnsley, and without a head coach yet named, roster decisions were being made by her, interim technical director Hank Stebbins, interim head coach and outgoing CSO Manny Lagos. El-Ahmad is being consulted, Ballard said.

Here are takeaways on some of the roster moves:

— The decision to decline Garcia’s contract is a departure from what former manager Adrian Heath and technical director Mark Watson were planning to do before they were fired in early October. That brain trust planned to bring Garcia back for next season, while buying him down from his DP contract.

Instead, the Loons will cut ties with the striker and open up a DP spot for El-Ahmad to use as he sees fit.

Garcia’s four goals underperformed his expected goals (5.8), according to FBref.com.

— The return of Boxall keeps a club leader and back-line mainstay on the roster in a transition year.

Boxall, 35, was on a bigger salary number last seasons — guaranteed compensation of $703,097, per MLSPA — but he was seventh in MLS in winning 73 percent of his defensive duels, according to wyscout. The longtime center back was paired with new partner Micky Tapias throughout the 2023 season.

— Rosales helped the Loons at multiple positions across the field a year ago and his versatility was vastly underpaid at $85,444 in guaranteed compensation, per MLSPA.

— MNUFC letting go of Kallman marks the end of an era. The 33-year-old Woodbury native was the longest-serving Loons player, dating back to 2013 in the club’s pre-MLS era.

With Kallman and Dibassy gone and Boxall a year older, the Loons need to get younger in their defensive spine. Now more than ever.

— Trapp, the club’s captain last season, was paid $850,000 last season, and that is believed to be deemed too high for the future.

Trapp, who will be 31 in January, continued to have above-average passing numbers last season, but his defensive stats were in, at least, the bottom 55th percentile, according to FBref.com.

The lack of defensive midfielders on the current roster is literally a gaping hole.

— Oluawseyi, 23, went out on loan to San Antonio FC last season and came back as the third-leading scorer (18 goals) in the USL Championship.

With Garcia gone, the 6-foot-2 first-round draft pick in 2022 should get a longer look in preseason to stay as a backup with the MLS side.

Loons’ roster as of Friday

Strikers: Teemu Pukki, Tani Oluwaseyi, Patrick Weah

Right wingers: Bongi Hlongwane, Robin Lod

Left wingers: Franco Fragapane, Sang Bin Jeong, Caden Clark

Attacking midfielders: Emanuel Reynoso

Central midfielders: Hassani Dotson, Kervin Arriaga, Joseph Rosales

Defensive midfielders: None

Fullbacks: D.J. Taylor, Zarek Valentin, Devin Padelford, Mikael Marques, Ethan Bristow

Center backs: Micky Tapias, Michael Boxall

Goalkeepers: Dayne St. Clair, Clint Irwin

Related Articles

Loons and right back D.J. Taylor agree to new contract

Loons CEO Shari Ballard wants to allay concerns on timing of key sporting hires

Loons CEO Shari Ballard ‘really pleased’ with club’s GM candidates