Real Salt Lake had an interestingly inconsistent 2022 season, which proved to be enough to put them into the playoffs by a single point. Their 12-11-11 record backs up the inconsistency claims wholeheartedly, they were just not able to string many results together in the second half of the season. In the first half of the season, RSL won eight games, meaning that they claimed just one-third of their total victories during the second half. Since the month of July, their record was 4-7-6, which is not exactly great. Their playoff run ended in the first round, despite Sergio Cordova's best efforts. It was a very controversial match, but in the end Austin FC defeated them in penalties. Their leading scoring was indeed Sergio Cordova with 11 goals, while Jefferson Savarino scored seven and assisted six in his 19 appearances. Savarino will look to lead the team forward in 2023, along with a couple of new additions and returning players.
The biggest move of the off-season was the acquisition of U22 Initiative winger Andres Gomez. The 22-year-old Colombian scored nine goals for Millonarios last season. In a somewhat intriguing move, they added left-back Brayan Vera, despite already having Bryan Oviedo at the position. Those two will battle for the spot, but Vera would be to start. They picked up a couple players in the draft, including the seventh overall pick out of Washington, striker Ilijah Paul. These were the moves that RSL went with, but it leaves a little to be desired. They offloaded starting right-back Aaron Herrera to CF Montreal for $500K in GAM. Bobby Wood left in the Re-Entry draft and signed for the New England Revolution. Young 18-year-old central defender Jaziel Orozco was shockingly sent on loan to Santos Laguna, despite having a chance at getting legit minutes this season. Jonathan Menendez was loaned to Newell's, while Sergio Cordova's loan expired, and is now expected to sign with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Tate Schmitt was traded to the Houston Dynamo for a late round pick in 2024. Johan Kappelhof and Nick Besler became free agents.
As far as the starting lineup goes, Zach MacMath will get the start in goal. Justen Glad and Marcelo Silva are the starting center back pair, with Vera and Andrew Brody on their outsides. Pablo Ruiz and Braian Ojeda should hold down the central midfield spots. Jefferson Savarino and Andres Gomez will be deployed on the wings, with Damir Kreilach at attacking midfield. Rubio Rubin is the best option at striker, though he is suspended for the first game against the Vancouver Whitecaps from a 2022 carry-over. Danny Musovski or draft pick Ilijah Paul will get a look. Other depth in the attack includes Justin Meram, Anderson Julio, and Maikel Chang, who are all solid options. Diego Luna, 19, is a flashy attacking midfielder that will also play minutes. Depth in midfield consists of German Jasper Loffelsend and Scott Caldwell. In totality, RSL has a solid lineup and some depth at certain spots, but their off-season was not the most impressive. With that being said, it solved some problems and created more competition for time within the squad. Real Salt Lake is one of the unknowns for 2023, it's pretty difficult to predict exactly what they will look like and how they will shake up the Western Conference table at this point in time.
Projected XI:
GK: MacMath
DEF: Vera, Silva, Glad, Brody
MID: Ojeda, Ruiz, Savarino, Gomez, Kreilach
FWD: Rubin
Off-Season Grade: C+
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