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Revolution begin making roster moves in what is expected to be an active offseason
Among the players whose options were declined were center back Xavier Arreaga and winger Dylan Borrero.
Following one of the worst seasons in club history, the Revolution took the first steps toward 2025 with the announcement of year-end roster moves Monday.
One of the major revelations was that longtime center back Andrew Farrell will be back with the club on a one-year deal. Farrell will continue his playing career but will also serve as an assistant coach with the team’s academy as he looks to explore an off-the-field role with the club. The 32-year-old Farrell was selected first overall by New England in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, and is the club’s all-time leader in appearances.
Among the players whose options were declined were center back Xavier Arreaga and winger Dylan Borrero. Arreaga, a 30-year-old Ecuadorian, was acquired midseason from Seattle. A former Designated Player with the Sounders, Arreaga’s salary in 2024 was listed at $775,000 (a comparatively bigger chunk of the allotted space under the MLS salary cap).
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Though he started well in New England, Arreaga’s performance dipped as the season continued. Explaining the decision Monday, Revolution sporting director Curt Onalfo cited a decline in form (and a large salary-cap requirement) for the reasons why Arreaga — a regular starter in Caleb Porter’s lineup in 2024 — was not retained.
“He came in and did very well for us in the beginning,” said Onalfo, “but his form — for whatever reason — really dropped off to such a level that we, as an organization, the coaching staff and front office, just made the decision that we would like to allocate those resources to a player that we believe can do better in that position for us.”
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Borrero, 22, remains a player with immense potential, having already made his international debut for Colombia. Yet after missing a year from 2023-24 with an ACL tear, he struggled to return to his previous standard, and was due a much larger piece of the salary cap as his contract graduated from U22 status.
“It’s a difficult one,” Onalfo said. “He’s an extremely talented young player. He had an awful injury. I mean, he was just on the rise.”
The sporting director also said the Borrero decision was partly due to “some of his struggles a little bit off the field.”
Other departures include veteran midfielder Tommy McNamara, center back Jonathan Mensah, and attacking midfielder Nacho Gil (brother of Revolution captain Carles Gil). Several veteran players, including right back Nick Lima and striker Bobby Wood, are free agents and will hit the open market.
Winger Emmanuel Boateng, right back Brandon Bye, and left back Will Sands had their options picked up, along with backup goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
Looking past 2024, in which the Revolution tied a club mark for losses (21) and finished second to last in the Eastern Conference during Porter’s first season as head coach, Onalfo said he is looking to make additions ahead of the preseason in January.
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“It’s glaringly obvious where our weaknesses were, right?” Onalfo said. “I don’t need to talk about stats, but we know we have to do better defensively, so we will bring in defensive reinforcements for sure. We have to score more goals, so that means adding players in that part of the field.”
With Arreaga and Mensah leaving — and given the myriad problems the defense experienced (conceding an Eastern Conference-high 74 goals) — at least one more center back will be on the wish list. Acquiring a center forward to either pair with or possibly supplant the mercurial Giacomo Vrioni is another clear priority.
Though short on specifics regarding whom he intends to bring in, Onalfo was clear on the broader offseason theme. There will be changes, possibly big ones. Whereas the situation last offseason was dominated by cap constraints, the picture this time is very different.
“We created a lot of space,” Onalfo said. “So we have room to do things. It’s going to be a very active window for us.”
On the coaching front, the one piece of news that emerged Monday was that assistant coach Clint Peay, who served as the second interim head coach in late 2023 following the resignation of Bruce Arena, will not return in 2025 after five seasons in New England.
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