MLS Free Agency headlines a busy off-season as we approach the January 14 Super Draft.
The 2015 Major League Soccer season has come to a close after crowning the Portland Timbers with their first MLS title. Now, after 20 years as an organization, the league faces their first Free Agency period as we approach the Super Draft on January 14.
For the first time in the history of MLS, 30 players were announced as eligible for the Waiver Draft, which was held on December 9, and only one name was chosen by all 20 clubs. Midfielder Micheal Azira, a 28-year-old Ugandan national who spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Sounders, was selected by the Colorado Rapids. Azira made 25 regular season appearances over the last two years with Seattle and contributed the game-winning goal in the 2012 USL Pro title game with the Charleston Battery. Azira was one of four Sounders players to appear on the list of Waiver Draft entrants, joining Thomas Bedinelli, Andres Correa and Gonzalo Pineda.
Here is the full list of players who were eligible for the Waiver Draft, with their former club in parentheses.
Daneil Cyrus (Chicago Fire)
Adailton dos Santos (Chicago Fire)
Charles Eloundou (Colorado Rapids)
Emanuel Pogatetz (Columbus Crew SC)
Ben Speas (Columbus Crew SC)
Kristinn Steindorsson (Columbus Crew SC)
Facundo Coria (D.C. United)
Otis Earle (FC Dallas)
AJ Cochran (Houston Dynamo)
Michael Lisch (Houston Dynamo)
Mika Vayrynen (LA Galaxy)
Timothy Mulgrew (New England Revolution)
Pablo Alvarez (New York City FC)
Sebastian Velasquez (New York City FC)
Leo Stolz (New York Red Bulls)
Adam Bedell (Orlando City SC)
Sidney Rivera (Orlando City SC)
Dzenan Catic (Philadelphia Union)
Jeanderson Pereira (Portland Timbers)
Demar Phillips (Real Salt Lake)
Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi (San Jose Earthquakes)
Paulo Renato (San Jose Earthquakes)
Tomas Gomez (San Jose Earthquakes)
Michael Azira (Seattle Sounders)
Thomas Bedinelli (Seattle Sounders)
Andres Correa (Seattle Sounders)
Gonzalo Pineda (Seattle Sounders)
Robert Earnshaw (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Caleb Clarke (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Andre Lewis (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Now that the Waiver Draft has concluded, the league will concentrate on the Re-Entry Draft that will take place on Friday, December 11, which will lead to the MLS Super Draft on January 14 in Baltimore, Maryland.
There are a total of 59 players that are eligible for this year’s Re-Entry draft, and the first stage will take place at 3 pm ET on Friday. Out-of-contract players who are at least 23 years old and have a minimum of three years of MLS experience are eligible for Re-Entry, with a secondary provision for players who are at least 25 years old with a minimum of four years of league experience.
Players selected in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft will be able to sign with their new club with a current contract option for 2016. Players that go unselected in Stage 1, will be eligible for Stage 2, while Stage 2 players will have to negotiate new deals with their new clubs.
Stage 2 will take place on December 17 at 3 PM ET as well.
There is only one way to reveal the list of players eligible, so here you have it:
Goalkeepers
GK Joe Bendik (Toronto FC)
GK Josh Ford (Orlando City SC)
GK Tally Hall (Orlando City SC)
GK Alec Kann (Chicago Fire)
GK Chris Konopka (Toronto FC)
GK Matt Lampson (Columbus Crew SC)
GK Zac MacMath (Philadelphia Union)
GK Brian Perk (LA Galaxy)
GK Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy)
GK Paolo Tornaghi (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Defenders
DF Kevin Alston (New England Revolution)
DF Jalil Anibaba (Sporting Kansas City)
DF Steven Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps)
DF Jeb Brovsky (New York City FC)
DF Hassoun Camara (Montreal Impact)
DF/MF Greg Cochrane (Chicago Fire)
DF Leonardo Gonzalez (Seattle Sounders)
DF Tony Lochhead
DF Tommy Meyer (LA Galaxy)
DF Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls)
DF Pa Modou Kah (Vancouver Whitecaps)
DF Lovel Palmer (Chicago Fire)
DF Chris Schuler (Real Salt Lake)
DF Zach Scott (Seattle Sounders)
DF Bakary Soumare (FC Dallas)
DF Jordan Stewart (San Jose Earthquakes)
DF Jermaine Taylor (Houston Dynamo)
DF Anthony Wallace (New York Red Bulls)
DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe (New York City FC)
Midfielders
MF Carlos Alvarez (Colorado Rapids)
MF/FW Tony Cascio (Orlando City SC)
MF Warren Creavalle (Philadelphia Union)
MF Danny Cruz (Philadelphia Union)
MF Andy Dorman (New England Revolution)
MF Michael Farfan (D.C United)
MF Fred (Philadelphia Union)
MF Boniek Garcia (Houston Dynamo)
MF Jeremy Hall (New England Revolution)
MF Jackson (Toronto FC)
MF Alex Lopez (Houston Dynamo)
MF Michel (FC Dallas)
MF Michael Nanchoff (Portland Timbers)
MF Lewis Neal (Orlando City SC)
MF Marco Pappa (Seattle Sounders)
MF Mauro Rosales (Vancouver Whitecaps)
MF Matt Watson (Chicago Fire)
Forwards
FW Jairo Arrieta (D.C. United)
FW Bright Dike
FW Robbie Findley (Toronto FC)
FW Mike Fucito (San Jose Earthquakes)
FW Chandler Hoffman (Houston Dynamo)
FW Antoine Hoppenot (Philadelphia Union)
FW Jason Johnson (Chicago Fire)
FW Danny Mwanga (Orlando City SC)
FW Dane Richards (New York Red Bulls)
FW Charlie Rugg (LA Galaxy)
FW Vicente Sanchez (Colorado Rapids)
FW Gabriel Torres (Colorado Rapids)
FW Maximiliano Urruti (Portland Timbers)
For those wondering why the list holds 59 players and not the 60 originally expected to appear, Seth Sinovic has signed a new deal with Sporting Kansas City, and will return to his native club where he spent the last five seasons.
We will, of course, do our best to keep you up to date with player news and results of each drafting period throughout the process.
The next date to be aware of is January 14, 2015. The 2016 MLS Super Draft will be the 17th version of the event, and is held in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention that will take place from January 14 – 16.
Briefly we will go over the draft bylaws, as any expansion club will receive the first picks of the draft, as we saw with Orlando City and NYCFC just a year ago.
Orlando City chose Kyle Larin first overall in the 2015 Super Draft, and that certainly worked out well for the expansion club in this past campaign. The Canadian native tied Bradley Wright-Phillips of the NY Red Bulls with 17 goals and finished the year in the top five in scoring. All non-playoff teams receive the next order of selections, which is similar to the NFL as the team with the worst record drafts in order of their finish from the previous season.
All 12 clubs that made the playoffs will be ordered by which round of the playoffs they were eliminated, leaving Columbus and Portland as the final two clubs to make their selections. Here is the order of this year’s draft, with inserted notes about the transactions affecting any picks throughout the four rounds.
1st Round
1 Chicago Fire
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Philadelphia Union
4 New York City FC
5 Real Salt Lake
6 Philadelphia Union (R1 trade)
7 Orlando City SC
8 San Jose Earthquakes
9 Toronto FC
10 New England Revolution
11 Sporting Kansas City
12 Los Angeles Galaxy
13 D.C. United
14 Montreal Impact
15 Seattle Sounders FC
16 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
17 FC Dallas
18 New York Red Bulls
19 Columbus Crew SC
20 Portland Timbers
You will notice that the Philadelphia Union are picking third and sixth in this year’s draft, and that is a result of a trade that went down on Monday, December 7.
Pick #6: The Philadelphia Union acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, along with general allocation money and targeted allocation money from the Houston Dynamo, in exchange for midfielder Cristian Maidana and forward Andrew Wenger.
The second round of the draft has already had 9 transactions that will affect the order of selection, some of which date back to trades that were made in the 2013 season. We will reveal the details for each trade below.
2nd Round
21 Columbus Crew SC (R2 trade)
22 Colorado Rapids
23 Toronto FC (R2 trade)
24 Montreal Impact [R2 trade)
25 Real Salt Lake
26 Houston Dynamo
27 Philadelphia Union (R2 trade)
28 San Jose Earthquakes
29 Seattle Sounders FC (R2 trade)
30 New England Revolution
31 Columbus Crew SC) (R2 trade)
32 Columbus Crew SC (R2 trade)
33 Orlando City SC (R2 trade)
34 D.C. United
35 Montreal Impact
36 Seattle Sounders FC
37 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
38 FC Dallas
39 New York Red Bulls
40 Montreal Impact [R2 trade)
41 Portland Timbers
Pick #21: Chicago Fire > Orlando City > Columbus Crew.
On August 6, 2015, The Columbus Crew acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Orlando City in exchange for forward Adam Bedell. On December 10, 2014, Orlando City had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Chicago Fire in exchange for defender Eric Gehrig.
Pick #23: Philadelphia Union > Toronto FC.
On August 7, 2015, Toronto FC acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Philadelphia Union in exchange for defender Warren Creavalle.
Pick #24: New York City > Montreal Impact.
On June 12, 2014, the Montreal Impact acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC in exchange for defender Jeb Brovsky.
Pick #27: Orlando City > Philadelphia Union.
On December 8, 2014, the Philadelphia Union acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and allocation money from Orlando City SC in exchange for defender Amobi Okugo.
Pick #29: Toronto FC > Seattle Sounders.
On January 26, 2015, the Seattle Sounders FC acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Toronto FC in exchange for defender Eriq Zavaleta.
Pick #31: Chivas USA > Columbus Crew.
On May 8, 2014, the Columbus Crew SC acquired a conditional second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Chivas USA in exchange for forward Ryan Finley. *Note, Columbus will be picking 31st and 32nd, which was a result of the contraction of the Chivas USA franchise in October 2014. MLS revealed that Columbus would receive a bonus pick in 2016.
Pick #32: Sporting Kansas City > Columbus Crew.
On December 16, 2013, the Columbus Crew acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.
Pick #33: Los Angeles Galaxy > Orlando City.
On July 30, 2015: Orlando City SC acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Pick #40: Columbus Crew > Montreal Impact.
On August 4, 2015, the Montreal Impact acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Columbus Crew SC in exchange for forward Jack McInerney.
3rd Round
42 Chicago Fire
43 Colorado Rapids
44 Philadelphia Union
45 FC Dallas (R3 trade)
46 Real Salt Lake
47 Houston Dynamo
48 Orlando City SC
49 San Jose Earthquakes
50 Toronto FC
51 New England Revolution
52 Sporting Kansas City
53 Los Angeles Galaxy
54 Seattle Sounders FC (R3 trade)
55 Montreal Impact
56 Seattle Sounders FC
57 Chicago Fire (R3 trade)
58 FC Dallas
59 Toronto FC (R3 trade)
60 Columbus Crew SC
61 Portland Timbers
Pick #45: New York City > FC Dallas.
On July 29, 2014, FC Dallas acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC, in exchange for midfielder Andrew Jacobson.
Pick #54: D.C. United > Seattle Sounders.
On March 4, 2014, the Seattle Sounders acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Alex Caskey.
Pick #57: Vancouver Whitecaps > New York Red Bulls > Chicago Fire. January 20, 2015: Chicago Fire acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York Red Bulls in exchange for goalkeeper Kyle Reynish.
Pick #59: New York Red Bulls > Toronto FC.
On December 13, 2013, Toronto FC acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, which was originally a first-round selection in the 2016 MLS Supplemental Draft, and a first-round selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft from New York Red Bulls, all in exchange for midfielder Bobby Convey and a second-round selection in the 2014 SuperDraft.
4th Round
62 Chicago Fire
63 Colorado Rapids
64 Philadelphia Union
65 Real Salt Lake (R4 trade)
66 Real Salt Lake
67 D.C. United (R4 trade)
68 Orlando City SC
69 San Jose Earthquakes
70 Toronto FC
71 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (R4 trade)
72 Sporting Kansas City
73 Los Angeles Galaxy
74 D.C. United
75 Montreal Impact
76 Seattle Sounders FC
77 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
78 FC Dallas
79 New York Red Bulls
80 Columbus Crew SC
81 Portland Timbers
Pick #65: New York City > Real Salt Lake.
On August 11, 2014, Real Salt Lake acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC in exchange for defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe.
Pick #67: Houston Dynamo > D.C. United.
On December 8, 2014, D.C. United acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and midfielder Andrew Driver from Houston Dynamo, in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Willis and defender Samuel Inkoom.
Pick #71: New England Revolution > Vancouver Whitecaps.
On February 26, 2014, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New England Revolution in exchange for midfielder Daigo Kobayashi.
We will keep you up to date with the draft results, and will also be offering our draft day expectations here at Get More Sports so you can all be as prepared as possible for the 2016 MLS season.
