The season may have ended for Major League Soccer, but the action is fast and furious as teams readjust their rosters and position themselves to pursue new talent.
If you are confused as to which players on the Rapids will be back in 2015, or are trying to figure out where those players who will not be back in Colorado will land, here’s a guide that can help.
Players protected from the Expansion Draft, Wednesday, Dec. 10
The Expansion Draft is being conducted in order to stock the rosters of two new MLS teams for 2015 - Orlando City SC and New York FC. These two clubs will make alternate selections and they can choose players from any roster in the league, as long as they are not on the protected list. Watch here live from 12 pm MT.
Colorado’s Protected List
Davy Armstrong, Deshorn Brown, Caleb Calvert, Marlon Hairston, Michael Harrington, Clint Irwin, Chris Klute, Zat Knight, Nick LaBrocca, Drew Moor, Shane O’Neill, Dillon Powers, Vicente Sánchez, Dillon Serna, Gabriel Torres and Jared Watts. Click here for more details.
Unprotected List
This list includes players whose contract options were not exercised for 2015, and who are eligible to be selected in the Expansion Draft, the Waiver Draft or the Re-entry Draft, depending upon certain factors.
Gale Agbossoumonde, Carlos Alvarez, John Berner, Edson Buddle, Marc Burch, Tony Cascio, Geoffrey Castillion, Charles Eloundou, Kamani Hill, Dimitry Imbongo, José Mari, Brian Mullan, Danny Mwanga, John Neeskens, Thomas Piermayr, Grant Van De Casteele and Marvell Wynne.
Waiver Draft - Wednesday, Dec. 10
Of the players on the unprotected list, there are three players - Gale Agbossoumonde, Geoffrey Castillion and Thomas Piermayr - who are eligible for the Waiver Draft.
Re-Entry Draft – Friday, Dec. 12 (stage one) and Thursday, Dec. 18 (stage two)
Rapids players eligible for the Re-entry Draft are Davy Armstrong, Edson Buddle, Kamani Hill, Dimitry Imbongo, Brian Mullan, Danny Mwanga and Marvell Wynne. They are eligible to be selected in this draft because they fit one or more of the following categories:
- Players at least 23 years old with a minimum of three years in MLS whose options by the club were declined.
- Players out of contract who have not received a new offer and are at least 25 years old with a minimum of four years in MLS and/or who are at least 30 years old with a minimum of eight years in MLS.
Still confused? Here’s one more piece to keep in mind. Players whose contract options were not picked up by the Rapids could still be invited back by the Rapids if they are still available when preseason training begins in January (except those eligible for the Waiver Draft).
