Alex Caskey was in the unenviable position of having to catch up to his new teammates in Black and Red, after having been acquired from the Seattle Sounders shortly after they played D.C. United in Charleston during preseason. The acquisition, where D.C. shipped a 3rd round pick in 2016 to the Sounders was one which was seen as a depth acquisition, one where if it came to that, D.C. could call on the midfielder if they needed to.
Thankfully when they did it was generally minimally harmful to the team. He had two regular season starts, both losses (to the Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution in road contests), and was subbed on in a May game against Sporting Kansas City only to be sent off due to a red card from a challenge three minutes later. He featured in CONCACAF Champions League matches, with starts in all four Group Stage matches, being subbed off on two of them. He even saw a start with the Richmond Kickers, playing 90 against eventual League Finalists Harrisburg.
Caskey's base and guaranteed compensation numbers are the same at $48,825, and with a similar schedule of US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League fixtures next year, depth talent at reasonable prices that sport Caskey's versatility would certainly help in some regard. So with that in mind...