The Galaxy promoted forward Ariel Lassiter to its first team and signed U.S. national player Gyasi Zardes to a multiyear contract extension Thursday, bringing its roster to the opening-day limit of 28 and completing a busy offseason that saw Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena add 10 new players.
Zardes is one of the holdovers, although that was in doubt heading into the off-season. After Zardes scored 22 goals in the last two seasons, the Galaxy was reportedly fielding inquiries from European teams interested in the young forward’s services. The Galaxy refused and Thursday they locked him up through at least 2018.