It's been a month since our last episode of this show, and Orlando City's preseason is winding down. The Lions will start their 2026 regular season in less than two weeks, and there seem to be a lot more questions this year as opening day approaches.
We start this show with some of the bad news, beginning with the sale of Alex Freeman to Villarreal in Spain's La Liga. While we're happy Alex is chasing his soccer dreams, it's a bitter pill to swallow getting only one season out of a kid we've watched grow up with OCB and blossom over the course of one fantastic MLS season.
Speaking of bitter pills...Facundo Torres is back — but not with Orlando. Torres will play for Austin FC just a year after leaving the Lions to return to South America to play in Brazil.
Sticking with the bad news theme, we discuss Robin Jansson's foot surgery and when we might see him back on the pitch. Not only do the Lions need their captain, but there's precious little top flight experience at the center back position, especially with the signing of Dusan Stojinovic falling through due to a failed medical. We discuss the problems with depth along the defense and what Orlando might be doing about it. It is not what we would do about it.
But it isn't all bad news. There is plenty of good news in the preseason as well, and we start that with a discussion of Orlando City re-signing Martin Ojeda through the 2028-2029 season. Ojeda is one of the league's more humble and likeable star players, and we hope he's building his professional legacy here in the City Beautiful.
Additionally, the Lions signed first-round 2026 MLS SuperDraft picks Harvey Sarajian and Nolan Miller. If both players end up having decent careers, this year's draft will be one to remember for City fans. But there was another big signing as well. Brazilian center back Iago joins Orlando City on an MLS U22 Initiative deal, and it looks like he'll be pressed into service sooner rather than later.
Finally, we discuss some of the best news of all: Wilder Cartagena and Yutaro Tsukada have both been participating fully in preseason after suffering season-ending injuries during the 2025 preseason. It's great to see them back on the pitch and they'll hopefully be able to contribute throughout the 2026 season.
Our mailbagbox asked us to rank potential Polish international signings, pick our (and Oscar Pareja's) Orlando City midfield starters, and run through the depth chart. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.
Following our mailbagbox, we discussed the club's new Sunken Treasure kits. The Lions will be adorned in gold for the first time and we like the look. We break down some of the features about the kits and some of the things that we're not as happy with. Overall, it's another solid design for OCSC.
We wrap up with a brief discussion of the 2026 OCB schedule release and what to expect from the Young Lions' MLS NEXT Pro opponents this year. There was also another one of our patented digressions in the middle of that, but you expected it, right?
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Here’s how No. 516 went down:
0:15 – We've got some bad news, Orlando City fans, and we've got some good news. We start with the bad so we could end on a high note.
35:43 – The mailbagbox is still trying to sign Polish internationals and is interested in the midfield.
55:19 - The Sunken Treasure kits and OCB's 2026 slate is out.
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