The Designated Player label can be a tricky one. It was, after all, invented to accommodate David Beckham, the first giant, imported MLS star and one who still looms large over the game here in the U.S. and Canada. In a salary cap league, the Designated Player tag is seen as a team’s chance to get an expensive and wildly talented player, as a treat. As such, DPs come with plenty of baggage in fans’ minds — they should score, they should lead, they should be on all the merch, they should define a team’s identity.
On first blush, Jan Gregus — signed as the team’s third DP prior to the 2019 season and currently the team’s only starting DP as Thomas Chacon continues to evolve and grow as a Young DP — didn’t really appear to do any of those things.