Tampa Bay Rowdies retain midfielder Juan Guerra, agreeing to a restructured deal

The Tampa Bay Rowdies fell just short of making the postseason in 2015, as a final match defeat at the hands of the New York Cosmos allowed the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to take the final semifinal spot for the second straight season. That failure seems to have convinced the Rowdies to improve the squad ahead of next season, and on Tuesday, the club announced that they have agreed to a new contract with one of their key players from 2015.

The Rowdies have agreed to a restructured deal with midfielder Juan Guerra, signed last offseason to provide some stability in front of the back four. While the Rowdies attack was mostly disappointing last campaign, they looked relatively solid in terms of preventing goals, and Guerra played a big part in that, shielding the defense and often forcing opposition attack to come from the wide areas of the pitch.

Guerra will now remain with the club for the 2016 season, and the Rowdies confirmed that they have an option on the player for the 2017 campaign, as well. The Florida club already looked like a solid bet to earn a semifinal place this coming season, and at the moment, probably rival Minnesota United for the right to call themselves preseason favorites.

You;'re up, New York Cosmos. Let's see a signing or two sometime soon...