NEW YORK – July 17, 2024 – Today New York City FC announced that the club has signed midfielders Maximo Carrizo and Piero Elias, and defender Drew Baiera to Short-Term Agreements ahead of New York City FC’s match against Atlanta United.
Carrizo and Baiera, who are on first team contracts, are signing on loan as off-roster Homegrown players. Meanwhile, Elias is joining on loan from MLS NEXT Pro affiliate New York City FC II.
Across three seasons with New York City FC II, Máximo Carrizo has featured in 37 games, logging 2,000 minutes, scoring two goals, and contributing three assists. In 2022, Carrizo became the youngest first team signing in MLS history.
Joining New York City FC II for its inaugural season in 2022, Piero Elias has since played in 61 matches, scoring eight goals and tallying nine assists.
Meanwhile, Drew Baiera has scored one goal and provided two assists in 24 MLS NEXT Pro appearances. The defender will represent New York City FC in the 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate in Columbus next week.
Carrizo, Elias and Baiera were an integral part of New York City II’s historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run this year. The ‘Boys in Blue’ set a record for the farthest run in the tournament for a reserve team by reaching the Round of 16, beating the Seattle Sounders II Round of 32 run in 2015. The trio contributed a combined three goals and one assist during that cup run.
Per MLS rules, a club may sign a player aged 25 or younger from its MLS NEXT Pro affiliate to a maximum of four Short-Term Agreements each season. An individual player may be included on up to four MLS league season match rosters each season. However, that player may appear in no more than two MLS league season matches. An individual player may appear in any number of non-league games during the terms of their four Short-Term Agreements.
