The Rondo, MLS preseason edition: Should USMNT's Josh Sargent join Toronto FC? Best coaching hire? Biggest free-agency miss?

Tom Hindle: Miami by far. As if getting Dayne St. Clair - the best goalkeeper in MLS - wasn't good enough, they went and filled out their roster with smart defensive signings. And they could still bring in another DP(!!). The Herons are probably still a midfielder short, but get that right, and there's a pretty compelling case to be made that this was the best offseason by an MLS club ever. 

Ryan Tolmich: Quite clearly, Inter Miami. Yes, they were given some tough tasks with the retirements of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, but they've certainly gone above and beyond in facing those tasks. Left back Sergio Reguillon has Premier League quality. St. Clair might be the best goalkeeper in MLS. Micael and David Ayala are proven in MLS, and oh yeah, that Rodrigo De Paul thing is permanent now. Somehow, the MLS Cup champions have gotten even better. That's how you do an offseason.

TH: Cade Cowell to New York Red Bulls. It wasn't quite happening for him down in Mexico, and he has already proved that he can be an impact player in MLS. Is Cowell the bona fide USMNT player that a few thought he might develop into? Nope. But he will certainly make RBNY better, and on a loan deal, it's a really tidy piece of business. 

RT: Nashville already had a dog on one side in Hany Mukhtar. Now they have one on the other side with Cristian Espinoza, too, after signing the now-former San Jose Earthquakes star as a free agent. Inter Miami aside, Nashville might have the best attack in the league now with those two sitting behind Sam Surridge. They'll need to cope with the losses of Walker Zimmerman and Jacob Shaffelburg, but scoring a boatload of goals with Espinoza in the attack will certainly help.

TH: Osman Bukari to Poland for $6.5 million. He failed to make an impact in Austin over 18 months and looked like an incredibly misguided signing. To recoup almost all of the fee after such an underperformance is no small feat. If they reinvest, then it looks like a stroke of genius.  

RT: Atlanta United's decision to sell Bartosz Slisz to Brøndby may not feel great in the short-term, but it does free them up a bunch in the long-term. Slisz was one of few good players for Atlanta last season, but with Tata Martino back in charge, there's reason to believe Atlanta will be back to their old habits of signing younger, South American starlets. To do that, though, you need cap space, so while Slisz is an unfortunate casualty, the move does give Atlanta some money to play with to really begin what is a necessary rebuild.

TH: Michael Bradley is a good one, and he's likely got the USMNT job in his future. But Marc Dos Santos might be better. Always one for continuity, and promoting the guy who studied under Steve Cherundolo seems a smart move. Now, if LAFC play some tidier football, they could be MLS cup faves - if they aren't already. 

RT: Bradley. All of American soccer will be watching to see how he fares in his first senior coaching gig. Bradley is one of the best soccer minds the American game has ever produced and has long been tipped as a potential high-level coach. Now, everyone will find out, and it'll happen with a club, where the expectations aren't as outsized as say LAFC or Inter Miami. Bradley will work with a good mix of young players and veterans in his first gig with the Red Bulls, one where he'll largely be able to learn on the job.

TH: Yoann Damet. St. Louis CITY needed someone to stabilize things after a rough year, and Damet is hardly an MLS vet. There's an argument to be made that fresh ideas can be important, but Damet might not be the right man at the right time.

RT: Not questioning, because there is some value in continuity, particularly when you are a good team. However, it is fair to wonder if LAFC couldn't have taken a bigger swing than just promoting Marc Dos Santos to the main gig. He is experienced, of course, and he's been with LAFC for a few years now so no worries about transition periods. The LAFC job, though, is one that could attract some of the world's biggest names. The fact that LAFC didn't take a swing to sign one is, from the outside, a little less fun, even if Dos Santos does allow the team to keep humming.

TH: Hello, Toronto. They have been keeping their powder dry for a year now, and if there's much to those Sargent rumors, it will be a fine start. San Jose, after losing main man Cristian Espinoza, also have some work to do. 

RT: Plenty of them! It's still early and, with the January transfer window still rolling, there's no shortage of moves to be made. Toronto FC appear the most likely do really go big given the recent Josh Sargent rumors and their current roster situation. Don't expect the Canadian side to start 2026 quietly as they look to move on from the Insigne era.

TH: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Norwich has been good for him here and there, but the American has never found consistency in England. MLS is a fresh start for him, and he could certainly be an impact player in the league. And yes, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino has shown an appreciation of MLS. So if World Cup is part of the motivation here, then well done Josh. 

RT: Every move for national-team-level players has to be viewed through the lens of "does this help them for the World Cup?" That's not fair, in reality, because people's lives are more complicated than that, but the reality is that Toronto probably doesn't get Sargent that much closer to the squad this summer. He turned down a move to Wolfsburg, but started the season hot enough to justify it. Now, with Norwich all but doomed, it makes sense to make a move, but it seems it may be too little, too late for Sargent to really vault up the depth chart into a big World Cup role.