User blog comment:Fintin/New Crewmate or Allies?/@comment-10543621-20140417013725

I think Oda has been foreshadowing the idea of allies for quite awhile. I mean, he has effectively placed a whole bunch of different countries, organisations, crews etc etc in the debt of the Strawhats. Just in their short journey into the New world, they have potentially more allies than many other large crews. Many of these new characters introduced since the time skip (even more in Dressrossa arc) all have reasons why they wouldn't join the SH crew itself, and I can't see any reasion why Luffy would want any of them as part of the main crew. But alliance? Extremely likely.

I think the alliance with Law sort of marked a new 'age' in the storyline where the SHs are gonna expand their influence much greater than just a ragtag small crew doing random stuff.

That being said, It doesn't stop the main SH crew from actually recruiting a new member in. I do believe we have room for one more. As for who that would be, I actually don't think any of the characters introduced recently and other potential ones would have a reason to join the SH main crew, not even JInbe. I think Jinbe's responsibilities to Fishmen island and Sun pirates are too great for him to just abandon them like that. Unless the SHs dramatically expand and become a yonkou style size that's capable of absorbing smaller crews (Like Spade pirates and Whitebeard). I kinda don't want that to happen though, that'll just spoil their unique-ness.

Other characters such as Kinemon, Dresrossa royalty, Barty, Chinjao, dwarves etc etc all have their own shit to handle and take care of. Allies and potential forced followers maybe, but crewmate? Unlikely. Typically, crewmates need to be relatively isolated, or have a major dream that requires them to leave home. Even if they do leave home, the family left behind tend to be relatively well adjusted and wouldn't have issues carrying on without said character. These new potential people mostly have too important a role in their respective organisations to just bolt like that...

To be honest, I find it more likely for Monet to suddenly appear, having shown to have survived and join the strawhats because she has the hots of Zoro than any of these other 'potential recruits' to join the SH main crew.