The Offseason So Far: They let a bunch of guys walk, the resigned a couple of them, and exercised a couple of loan-to-buy options, and it's a fair bet that roster slots 1-through-15 or so for next year's Dynamo will look a lot like last year's Dynamo.
Beyond that, though, this team is on the verge of being rebuild-y. They've cut a ton of salary and lost a ton of depth, and are going to be very busy in adding players around the margins. That's already started with the acquisition of Arturo Alvarez from the Fire – a good pick-up to replace the retiring Vicente Sanchez – and Chris Seitz in goal.
Arturo Alvarez playing for the Chicago Fire | USA Today Sports
They're also going to be very busy adding players in defense. Right back is barren, no center back who was in the regular rotation last year was under the age of 30, and the only left back to be found is long-time backup Dylan Remick. Remick might be good enough to be a fulltime starter, but even if that's the case, there are reinforcements needed.
Lots of worries. That said, I love their front six (Romell Quioto, Mauro Manotas, Alberth Elis, Tomas Martinez, Eric Alexander, Juan David Cabezas). Trot those guys out there 30 times and the Dynamo will win their fair share of games.
JAN. 2 UPDATE: The latest is that Alex could be off to South Korea, which is probably fine. He was great through May of last season, but tailed off significantly after the first dozen or so games and probably didn't/doesn't have a prominent role for this group in 2018.
Even without him the midfield is fine, and should actually be a strength if they commit to using the ball more. Too many of Houston's attacks last season devolved into 1-v-1s instead of real combo play around the box, and there's a real hope that a full season of Martinez can change that.
No news or rumors about incoming fullbacks just yet. You're free to wait patiently, if a little bit nervously, Houstonians.
JAN. 24 UPDATE: Just before the draft they signed center back Alejandro Fuenmayor, and just after the draft they traded for central midfielder Darwin Ceren. During the draft they snagged goalkeeper Michael Nelson of SMU.
All three players fill obvious needs. There was nobody in the center back rotation younger than 30, and so enters the 21-year-old Fuenmayor. There was no clearcut back-up d-mid behind Juan David Cabezas, and so enters Ceren. There was no second- or third-string goalkeeper, and so enters Nelson.
Will that be it for Houston? Not sure. I suspect they're still working on moving Cubo Torres out, and if that happens then they're suddenly flush with cash, cap space, a DP slot and a need for center forward depth.
Cubo's the first domino in the rest of this team's winter. Nothing that important will happen until/unless he's moved.
EDIT: I wrote the above two paragraphs just before this news dropped:
The Dynamo will have one more big move to make after this one, though it might not come until summer.
