D.C. United was in a bad way at fullback in late April and early May this year. Joseph Mora had his jaw fractured in early April and was still months from coming back. Oniel Fisher was still out, and he ended up not suiting up for the team at all this season. D.C. United had been trying a 3-5-2 with Leonardo Jara and Lucas Rodriguez playing as the wingbacks. If they hadn’t been there, they would have had to be deployed as the team’s fullbacks, which was a position basically new to Rodriguez.
All of this was the context into which Marquinhos Pedroso was signed.