Alright, I didn’t expect to get into this just yet but felt that it was worth starting up. I will be doing a team-by-team list of who I think will and won’t be protected in this year’s expansion draft. Hard to believe but we are nearly a month away from MLS Cup and from the next expansion draft.

The expansion draft is something we will just have to get use to over the next few years. I’m fairly sure that the rules from the last two drafts will carry over into this year’s edition. With only one team on the block I figure every club will have to protect 11 players (Generation adidas players are auto-protected). Designated Players (DP) can NOT be exposed.

I’m starting this off with the LA Galaxy. Let’s face it they stand a good chance of being last place this season so why not.

As always, feel free to list who you think will and won’t be protected from this bunch.

The Protected:

  1. David Beckham – Duh.
  2. Landon Donovan – Another duh, even if he does decide to bolt to Europe this winter. (But if the Galaxy know for sure that he is don’t be shocked to see him left unexposed since his contract will be too high for Seattle to take on.)
  3. Edson Buddle – Had a monster year, expect the Galaxy to keep him on.
  4. Steve Cronin – Probably their only keeper that they have that will be protected, even that is an iffy situation.
  5. Sean Franklin – One of the few rookies up for ROY this year, he has to be protected since he isn’t a GA.
  6. Alan Gordon – More than likely he will be protected
  7. Chris Klein – Solid vet that they cannot let go…
  8. Eddie Lewis – Another duh really.
  9. Peter Vagenas – I wonder about Vagenas but there is a good chance he will be protected
  10. Mike Randolph – Young defender that they need to keep.
  11. Ante Jazic – Canadian defender that I think they need to keep as well.

Not Protected, Could Be Taken:

  1. Brandon McDonald – Rookie should some promise this year.
  2. Troy Roberts – Defender that could be taken.
  3. Greg Vanney – Would Seattle take on a high contract for an aged defender? I doubt it but you never know.

Not Protected, Probably Won’t Be Taken:

Everyone else.

For the most part I doubt any Galaxy player will be selected by Seattle unless for some reason the expose a big name like Buddle or a rookie like Franklin. I just don’t see it happening either way. LA as we all know have a lot of work to do this off-season and I expect Seattle doesn’t want to deal with some trash that LA is willing to throw out.


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