Oct
28
Expansion Draft List: DC United
Time once again for another list here in our Expansion Draft coverage. Today we shift focus to one of the more disappointing clubs this year, DC United. We have already gone through Dallas, LA, San Jose and Toronto.
DC went into the season with loads of expectations and ended up falling short of the post season with their 1-0 loss at Columbus on Sunday. They still have a CONCACAF Champions League game left but their season is pretty much over here. With a US Open Cup in their back pocket, they will return to the CCL next year so the offseason rebuild will be on starting with this expansion draft. How they protect will be an interesting thing.
As always to recap about the rules, go here.
The Protected:
- Marcello Gallardo – DP to protect, when healthy is actually one of the better midfielders in the league. It was a shame that we hardly got to see it in 2008 though. I expect 2009 to be better for him.
- Luciano Emilio – The other DP to protect. Even with if he doesn’t have a no trade clause I can’t see him not getting protected here.
- Jaime Moreno – Sure they could expose him due to his contract but do they really want to expose the heart and sole of their offense like that?
- Louis Crayton – DC finally found a reliable keeper, but if they really wanted to they could expose him because Seattle won’t be needing a keeper.
- Marc Burch – Young defender that can be a solid defender when his head is in the game.
- Fred – No way on Earth they would no protect one of their better midfielders.
- Francis Doe – I can’t see them expose him after seeing his play down the stretch here.
- Santino Quaranta – Nice come back season for Santino. His story was one of the better ones for this club in 2008. He’s still young too so they can’t expose him at all.
- Devon McTavish – I think they will keep McTavish, but this is coming from a WVU guy about a WVU guy. At times I think he is one of the better defenders that DC has but at times it’s not the case. Still this club needs defense for next year.
- Ben Olsen – I went back and forth on this one. On the surface you leave him open since he didn’t play in 08 and he probably wouldn’t be selected anyways, but at the same time when he plays he is probably the hardest worker on the field. Can’t run the risk of losing him this way.
- Gonzalo Martinez – Another defender…and one of their better additions in 2008.
Not Protected, Could Be Taken:
- Ivan Guerrero – Protect him or not is the question. I think they will not protect him and he will run the risk of being selected once again.
- Clyde Simms – Simms is another guy that I ponder about when it comes to protecting. If they don’t protect a guy like Moreno or Martinez then expect to see Simms on the protected list. If not he will be in no-man’s land and could be taken.
Not Protected, Probably Won’t Be Taken:
- Gonzalo Peralta – I’m still a bit surprised he lasted all year with the Black-and-Red but I doubt he will be protected and doubt even more that Seattle would take him and his somewhat pricey contract.
- Zach Wells – Would be a good back up but I honestly doubt he will be taken.
Everyone else is probably safe that isn’t protected including a few developmental players that are seend to be the future of this club in certain areas.
United have a lot of work for next year. Who they protect and who they don’t protect will go a long way in telling us where they look to go with this club. A lot does depend on if they keep Tom Soehn too as their manager. If they do then I would expect them to protect the big names and a few young guys to then go out and spend plenty of money on some players in the off season to fill the holes.
