A look at the production of the Designated Players on the teams that remain in the MLS playoffs helps to understand why Atlanta United failed to make the postseason for the first time in four seasons.
With the exception of Minnesota, the remaining four teams got a lot out of their high-priced players.
Columbus may have gotten more for its dollar with 24 goals and 16 assists from its three DPs.
Here’s a chart of Designated Players and their production this season for the teams that remain in the playoffs:
Columbus
Pedro Santos: 22 games, 6 goals, 8 assists
Gyasi Zardes: 21 games, 12 goals, 4 assists
Lucas Zelarayan: 16 games, 6 goals, 4 assists
Total: 59 games, 24 goals, 16 assists
Minnesota
Thomas Chacon: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists
Jan Gregus: 18 games, 1 goal, 6 assists
Emanuel Reynoso: 13 games, 1 goal, 6 assists
Total: 35 games, 2 goals, 12 assists
New England
Gustavo Bou: 18 games, 5 goals, 3 assists
Adam Buksa: 23 games, 6 goals, 2 assists
Charles Gil: 6 games, 0 goals, 2 assists
Total: 47 games, 11 goals, 7 assists
Seattle
Nicolas Lodeiro: 20 games, 7 goals, 10 assists
Joao Paulo: 19 games, 2 goals, 5 assists
Raul Ruidiaz: 17 games, 12 goals, 4 assists
Total: 56 games, 21 goals, 19 assists
Sporting KC
Felipe Gutierrez: 0 games
Alan Pulido: 12 games, 6 goals, 5 assists
Johnny Russell: 21 games, 6 goals, 4 assists
Totals: 33 games, 12 goals, 9 assists
And here’s Atlanta United’s production
Ezequiel Barco: 15 games, 2 goals, 3 assists
Josef Martinez: 1 game, 0 goals, 0 assists
Pity Martinez: 7 games, 2 goals, 2 assists
Marcelino Moreno: 6 games, 2 goals, 1 assist
Totals: 29 games, 6 goals, 6 assists
As you can see, and again with the exception of Minnesota for production and Sporting KC for games, Atlanta United not only didn’t get close to the number of goals or assists but didn’t get nearly as many games from its DPs.
Obviously, the biggest reason for the differences was the season-ending loss of Josef Martinez in Week 1.
Put Martinez back into the lineup, and assume he will score 21 goals, which would be his adjusted average for this season’s 23 games, and Atlanta United likely would have made the playoffs.
Another reason for the differences were the lack of production from Barco and Pity Martinez, whose production also suffered because of Josef Martinez’s injury. Four goals and five assists from 22 games … you can see how that compares with other DPs.
But the impact of a DP can be about more than just production. It can also be about just their presence on the field, the attention they require from opposing defenses, and the chemistry that comes from being able to roll out consistent lineups.
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