MLS Roster Updates - Gregore/Bartlow Contract Extensions & Firmino Signing For Atlanta
Rosters across Major League Soccer are always getting updated; who’s been signed, who’s been sold, who got a contract extension, etc. As this happens, sometimes you miss news! I’ve done, you’ve done it, it happens. Unless you can mindlessly update various social media sites constantly, you will probably miss something. So every few days (when applicable) I will do my best to wrap up ALL the moves here for you dedicated readers of MLS Aces.
Inter Miami CF extend defensive midfielder Gregore:
Inter Miami announced the contract extension of Gregore through the 2025 MLS season with a club option for 2026 as well. The 29 year old Brazilian has been a huge factor for this club when he has been able to be on the field. Unfortunately, this season he was given a huge blow, missing most of this season with a long term injury. Even in his roughly 250 minutes played this season, he was able to be a dominant defensive anchor and even grabbed himself an assist. There was a clear pre-Gregore injury to post-Gregore injury form in 2023 if you paid attention to the club prior to Lionel Messi’s arrival. Since arriving in 2021, Gregore has racked up 65 total games for the club being able to eat up 5,700 minutes and record 8 assists. Seeing how he pairs with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Facundo Farias, Benjamin Cremaschi, Diego Gomez, David Ruiz, and company in 2024 is going to be very interesting. Tata Martino could have some “good problems” next season as far as his team’s midfield depth goes.
Houston Dynamo FC extend centerback Ethan Bartlow:
After winning the 2023 U.S. Open Cup this season under brand new manager Ben Olsen, the Houston Dynamo have extended the contract of their former SuperDraft pick centerback Ethan Bartlow. The 23 year old American has had his best season as a professional soccer player recording a total of 32 games, roughly 2,200 minutes, and even 1 assist. Young centerbacks take time to develop, and this season we saw the product of Bartlow's development as he’s proven to be in the mix for Ben Olsen’s starting centerback pairing. Bartlow now has a career total of 52 games played and 3,600+ minutes played within the Houston Dynamo organization (3 games and 300 minutes played for the Houston Dynamo 2). Bartlow should be able to continue to rack up minutes for Houston as their MLS Cup Playoffs run starts soon enough, and as his introduction to CONCACAF Cup starts in 2024.
Atlanta United FC sign midfielder Nick Firmino from their MLS Next Pro side:
In his 2nd year within the Atlanta United organization, 22 year old Brazilian Nick Firmino has earned himself a MLS contract. The versatile midfielder is coming off of a 2023 season where he featured constantly within the Atlanta United 2 side. Across 27 MLS Next Pro games and 2,300 minutes, Firmino was able to score 16 goals and record 6 assists. He was given a short term deal with the first team back in June of this season, scoring in his 3 minutes played against NYCFC. The 2023 MLS Next Pro Team of the Season midfielder will surely be a feature for Atlanta United in 2024 and beyond. He’s been wildly impressive and a player that I feel could be extremely useful especially with the need for depth in MLS now more than ever. Firmino also won the USL League 1 Regular Season title as well as the USL League 1 Championship back in 2021.
