Crew adds another important piece for 2024

After adding two players on Thursday, Crew President and GM Tim Bezbatchenko was back at it again today bolstering the roster for 2024.

An Early Week Hint

On Monday, Bezbatchenko made a trade with Seattle to acquire two international roster spots. It was an obvious hint something was in the works. Well, one of those spots is going to be used on Marino Hinestroza, a midfielder who plays for Pachuca in Mexico. The 21-year-old Columbia native helped Pachuca to Liga MX’s 2022 Apertura title (Liga MX plays a split schedule and crowns a champion for each).  Hinestroza had two goals in four assists in 46 matches for the 2022-23 season. Bezbatchenko had this to say about him,

"He is a talented individual who can fit various roles within our style of play, including adding a one-v-one threat to our attack."

Sound Familiar?

Hinestroza can fit various roles. That type of versatility is something head coach Wilfried Nancy seems to covet. Having players you can plug in to various positions with little to no drop off in quality is a luxury. The Crew already have a couple of guys like that. Hinestroza is a great addition to a roster that already boasts versatile players like Sean Zawadzki and Malte Amundsen.

A Trend?

Are we seeing a bit of a trend in Bezbatchenko’s first few signings? Midfield seems to be a focus. Derrick Jones, who signed on Thursday, is also a midfielder. While the team does have the league’s best central midfield duo of Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris, depth is going to be needed to get the Crew through a very challenging 2024 schedule. This team is going to be BUSY and is going to need to be deep at each position. You want your key players to have fresh legs in October and November in order to make a run at another MLS Cup title.

Hinestroza will join the club when the MLS transfer window opens on January 31st.