Revs hoping money ball strategy hits in '26

As the 2026 MLS season approaches teams are moving and shaking, spending and lending, and rocking and rolling. One club doing the minimum is the New England Revolution.

Sporting Director Curt Onalfo, Owner Bob Kraft, and manager Marko Mitrovic. Photo Courtesy of the Boston Herald

The Revs have brought in Prospects in defender Eli Kohler, midfielder Brooklyn Raines, and Winger Griffin Yow. All 3 players have played under current manager Marko Mitrovic. In a league where top end talent and veteran play are key, the Revs are doubling down on their youth movement, with a mix of a few veteran players.

Highly sought after defender Peyton Miller may be moving out soon as well, with Man City heavily tracking the 18 year old. Some rumors indicate that City will be proposing a deal near $20 milly for the Connecticut born USYNT player.

A recent report has indicated that New England has a bit over $3 milly in GAM for 2026. Not only do Revs have that $3+ milly, they also have 2 buyouts at their disposal.

As we speak the Revs are adopting the 2/4/2 model, which means 2 DP's, 4U22's, which gets you $2 milly in GAM. Many thought that DP keeper Matt Turner was going to get bought down to a TAM player. That has yet to happen, but still could.

The more concerning thing(s) for me are the buyout situations. In 2025 MLS implemented a system where teams could use 2 buyouts, which means you can buyout a players contract. With that the player gets their pay and their money comes off the books.

In 2025 the Revs did not use either buyout, so far in 2026 they have yet to use either buyout. With several players underperforming while making a good chunk of change it looks to me as if the Revs are going the moneyball route.

For me players like Jackson Yuiell and Luca Langoni are prime buyout candidates, with both players underperforming their hefty salaries, (hefty among MLS standards).

I hope that if the Revs underperform they will use the appropriate mechanisms to try to improve the team. The skeptic in me says they will sit tight and make minimal, if any roster changes. With that being said, there are plenty of ways that the team could improve, but is Kraft willing to drop the $$? Is underperforming Sporting Director Curt Onalfo ruthless enough to make these tough decisions? We will see................