With the recent signings of 21-year-old defender Yeferson Quintana and 20-year-old midfielder Eric Calvillo, the Quakes have officially acquired nine players already this offseason, not including the recent SuperDraft selections, to replace the 11 that had departed.
Under the watch of general manager Jesse Fioranelli, technical director Chris Leitch and head scout Bruno Costa, San Jose has shown an unparalleled urgency to scout and sign players they rate highly. The team’s new regime has made it clear that they put in the work over an extended period to identify talent, thoroughly seek out new opportunities and build a large network that gets whittled down to specific targets. Once the transfer windows open, deals are finalized and acquisitions are announced, rather than playing the waiting game.
Per mlssoccer.com, the Earthquakes’ nine non-SuperDraft signings to date rank second most in all of MLS, trailing only expansion side LAFC. They, of course, have the obvious advantage of rebuilding their roster from the ground up ahead of their first season.
Looking elsewhere around the league, the Houston Dynamo have replaced just four of their 11 departures from the 2017 season. New England has replaced three of nine. Toronto just one Homegrown acquisition thus far despite losing 12 players. So on and so on.
The Quakes aren’t necessarily done massaging the final roster just yet, but have likely already done most of the heavy lifting.
Players acquired for 2018:
D - Joel Qwiberg (12/1/17 – transfer from IF Brommapojkarna)
GK - JT Marcinkowski (12/6/17 – Homegrown)
D - Jimmy Ockford (12/14/17 – USL)
M - Luis Felipe (12/14/17 – USL)
M - Chris Wehan (12/14/17 – USL)
D - Jacob Akanyirige (12/15/17 – Homegrown)
M/F - Magnus Eriksson (12/20/17 – transfer from Djurgardens)
D – Yeferson Quintana (1/17/18 – loan from Peñarol)
M – Eric Calvillo (1/20/18 – transfer from New York Cosmos)
SuperDraft Picks
D – Paul Marie (Florida International)
F – Danny Musovski (UNLV)
F – Mohamed Thiaw (Louisville)
