Davies among D.C. United players protected from MLS Expansion Draft

The truth is, it’s a business, and the motivations are part leverage, part rationality, and part risk-taking. And there’s precedent for teams screwing it up royally in the past so front offices better get it right.

Here’s what we’ve got this time with D.C. United, who had to put some players on display for the Montreal Impact, and there are some potential candidates to lose, too, but perhaps not the ones that many expected: 

Protected

Davies, Charlie

DeRosario, Dwayne

Jakovic, Dejan

Kitchen, Perry

Korb, Christopher

McDonald, Brandon

Pontius, Chris

Simms, Clyde

Willis, Joe

Wolff, Josh

Woolard, Daniel

Exempt Homegrown Players

Hamid, Bill

Najar, Andy

Shanosky, Conner

White, Ethan

Unprotected

Barklage, Brandon

Boskovic, Branko

Brettschneider, Blake

Burch, Marc

Cronin, Steve  

Da Luz, Austin

King, Stephen

McTavish, Devon

Morsink, Kurt

Ngwenya, Joseph

Quaranta, Santino

Zayner, Jed

Question: Why would D.C. protect Davies if they don’t even play him? Explanation: As has been explored on this blog, D.C. United owns Davies’ MLS rights until they decide to waive him or trade him. Although there was a four-hour window available Monday morning to make a trade, it’s a bit early in the cycle for a guy like Davies to move. That doesn’t mean he won’t. It’s just that not all teams’ plans for the offseason have gotten underway – that could include D.C. United’s, too – and a market for his services will take a little time to materialize. D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper told me today that it could take until mid-December for his future to be sorted out.

Question: Why leave Branko Boskovic unprotected? Explanation: He doesn’t have a no-trade clause, but the historical precedent is for new teams like Montreal to pursue their own higher-value players rather than poach them from other teams. 

Question: Who is the most surprising player that D.C. United protected? Explanation: First off, rookie Perry Kitchen graduated from the Generation Adidas program by virtue of his minutes played, removing him from the exempt group. As for the rest of the protected players, I’m not sure than any player comes as a surprise. I wouldn’t expect the market to be that great for a veteran striker like Josh Wolff ($160k salary in 2011) or veteran midfielder Clyde Simms ($179k), but neither player’s salary is that extreme to be prohibitive by itself. Still, the younger players that United made available seem more attractive as cost-effective additions to an expansion roster.

Question: Who is most likely to be selected among the unprotected players? Explanation: My list of candidates is three: Blake  Brettschneider, Austin da Luz, and Stephen King. They’re all young, cheap, have some upside and are positive additions to any locker room. Are they among the most talented players available league-wide? That will be for the Impact to determine. My initial reaction is that Santino Quaranta probably isn’t happy about being left unprotected, but that doesn’t make him a prime candidate to be selected. One goal, four assists, and a decent salary number ($117k) aren’t great selling points. Quaranta is certain to understand the odds of going to Quebec could be slim, too, but United’s decision to make him available could be an indication that he may also find himself in the re-entry draft.

Speaking of the re-entry draft, that will be the full meat market of available players. The rest of the players in the team lists below are only on the shelf for Montreal as it walks down the shopping aisle and ponders its make-your-own ten-pack: 

UNPROTECTED

Chicago Fire

Banner, Michael

Chaves, Diego

Conway, Jon

Cuesta, Yamith

Dufty, Alec

Ferrari, Gabriel

Gargan, Dan

Husidic, Baggio

Kinney, Steven

Mikulic, Josip

Nazarit, Cristian

Paladini, Daniel

Pantazapoulos, Pari

Videira, Mike

Watson-Siriboe, Kwame

Chivas USA

Arias, Sergio

Boyens, Andrew

Chijindu, Chukwudi

Cortez, Chris

Courtois, Laurent

Elliot, Simon

Estupinan, Victor

Gavin, Blair

Jazic, Ante

Junior Lopes, David

Lahoud, Michael

Mayen, Gerson

Mondaini, Marcos

Thornton, Zach

Trujillo, Mariano

Valentin, Zarek

Colorado Rapids

Akpan, Andre

Comminges, Miguel

Folan, Caleb

Joyce, Ian  

Kandji, Macoumba

Kimura, Kosuke

Marshall, Tyrone

Nyassi, Sanna

Palguta, Scott

Thompson, Wells

Wallace, Anthony

Ababio, Eddie

Amarikwa, Quincy

Ceus, Steward  

Emory, Stephen

Holody, Mike

LaBeaux, Ross

Columbus Crew

Burns, Kevin

Cunningham, Jeff

Ekpo, Emmanuel

Francis, Shaun

Gardner, Josh

Gehrig,Eric

Grossman, Cole

Gruenebaum, Andy  

Heinemann, Tommy

Mendoza, Andres

Meram, Justin

O’Rourke, Danny

Owoeri, John

Prim, Santiago

Riggs, Alex  

Rusmir, Dejan

Sippola, Ben

Veeder, Corey

Williams, Joshua

FC Dallas

Cruz, Daniel

dos Santos, Maicon

Edward, Edson

Galindo, Maykel

Guarda, Bruno

Hall, Jeremy

Hernandez, Daniel

Lambo, Josh  

Seitz, Chris  

Stewart, Jack

Villar, Ricardo

Warshaw, Bobby 

Houston Dynamo

Ching, Brian

Costly, Carlo

Cruz, Daniel

Freeman, Hunter

Garey, Jason

Newton, Evan  

Robinson, Eddie

Watson, JeVaughn

Weaver, Cam

LA Galaxy

Alvarado, Sean

Barrett, Chad

Birchall, Chris

Cardozo, Paolo

Cristman, Adam

Da Silva, Leonardo

Hejduk, Frankie

Jimenez, Hector

Jordan, Bryan

Keat, Daniel

Lopez, Miguel

McCarty, Dustin

Perk, Brian  

Robinson, Dasan

Stephens, Michael

Thomas, Ryan

New England Revolution

Barnes, Darrius

Boggs, Zak

Caraglio, Milton Joel

Cochrane, Ryan

Coria, Franco

Dube, Mkhokheli

Guy, Ryan

Kinne, Ryan

Koger, Alan

Loewy, Otto

Mansally, Abdoulie

Murray, Tim  

Phelan, Pat

Schilawski, Zack

Sousa, Andrew

New York Red Bulls

Albright, Chris

Auvray, Stephane

Ballouchy, Mehdi

Coundoul, Bouna  

Horwath, Alex  

Jones, Mychel

Lassiter, Tyler

Mendes, Carlos

Nielsen, Brian

Paullo, Marcos

Robinson, Carl

Rooney, John

Rost, Frank  

Schneider, Teddy

Sutton, Greg   

Philadelphia Union

Adu, Freddy

Gonzalez, Juan Diego

Harrison, Chase  

Holder, Hasley Thorne

Houapeu, Levi

Langley, Morgan

Mapp, Justin

Miglioranzi, Stefani

Nakazawa, Kyle

Paunovic, Veljko

Richter, Ryan

Tait, Joe

Portland Timbers

Alexander, Eric

Braun, Freddie

Brown, Adin  

Chabala, Michael

Dike, Bright

Gleeson, Jake  

Goldthwaite, Kevin

Johnson, Eddie William

Lopez, Rodrigo

Lowry, Peter

Marcelin, James

Pore, Ryan

Purdy, Steve

Taylor, Chris

Thompson, Spencer

Umony, Brian

Zizzo, Sal

Real Salt Lake

Agorsor, Chris

Alexandre, Jean

Alvarez, Arturo

Alvarez, Yordany

Araujo, Paulo Jr.

Arnoux, Cody

Gonzalez, Nelson

Grabavoy, Ned

McKenzie, Rauwshan

Melia, Timothy  

Reynish, Kyle  

Russell, Robbie

Wagner, Blake

Warner, Collen

Williams, Andy

San Jose Earthquakes

Ampaipitakwong, Anthony

Attakora-Gyan, Nana

Burling, Bobby

Convey, Bobby

Corrales, Ramiro

Gjertsen, Joseph

Griffin, Maxwell

Leitch, Chris

Luzunaris, Matt

McLoughlin, Ellis

Peterson, Jacob

Ring, Brad

Sealy, Scott

Ward, Tim

Weber, Andrew  

Seattle Sounders FC

Boss, Terry  

Carrasco, Servando

Estrada, David

Ford, Josh  

Fucito, Michael

Gonzalez, Leonardo

Graham, Taylor

Ianni, Patrick

Jaqua, Nate

Levesque, Roger

Meredith, Bryan

Montano, Miguel

Noonan, Pat

Riley, James

Sanyang, Amadou

Scott, Zacharias

Seamon, Michael

Wahl, Tyson

White, O’Brian

Sporting Kansas City

Aiyegbusi, Olukorede

Bravo, Omar

Cyrus, Daneil

Diop, Ibrahim

Goncalves, Jeferson

Harrington, Michael

Kronberg, Eric  

Lorenz, Scott

Olum, Lawrence

Peterson, Joseph

Rocastle, Craig

Saad, Soony

Sassano, Luke

Sinovic, Seth

Stojcev, Milos

Thomas, Shavar

Warzycha, Konrad

Toronto FC

Borman, Danleigh

Bouchiba, Elbekay

Cann, Adrian

Davies, Kyle

de Guzman, Julian

Gold, Matt

Griffit, Leandre

Marosevic, Peri

Martina, Javier

Omphroy, Demitrius

Soolsma, Nick

Sturgis, Nathan

Viator, Eddy

Williams, Dicoy

Yourasskowsky, Mikael

Zavarise, Gianluca

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Boxall, Michael

Brovsky, Jeb

Cannon, Joe  

Duckett, Bilal

Janicki, Greg

Jarju, Mustapha

Leathers, Jonathan

Morfaw, Alexandre

Nolly, Jay  

Thorrington, John

Vagenas, Pete

COMPLETE LIST OF PROTECTED PLAYERS TEAM-BY-TEAM

Chivas USA

Angel, Juan Pablo

Braun, Justin

Flores, Jorge

Kennedy, Dan

LaBrocca, Nick

Moreno, Alejandro

Nagamura, Paulo

Pearce, Heath

Smith, Ryan

Umana, Michael

Zemanski, Ben

Chivas USA Homegrown Players

Bowen, Tristan

de la Fuente, Bryan

Chicago Fire

Anibaba, Jalil

Barouch, Orr

Gibbs, Cory

Grazzini, Sebastian

Johnson, Sean

Nyarko, Patrick

Oduro, Dominic

Pappa, Marco Pablo

Pardo, Pavel

Pause, Logan

Segares, Gonzalo

Chicago Fire Homegrown Players

Gulley, Kellen

Pineda, Victor

Columbus Crew

Anor, Bernardo

Belchan, Rich

Duka, Dilly

Gaven, Eddie

Hesmer, Will

James, Julius

Marshall, Chad

Miranda, Sebastian

Renteria, Emilio

Rogers, Robbie

Tchani, Tony

Columbus Crew Homegrown Players

Horton, Aaron

Colorado Rapids

Casey, Conor

Cummings, Omar

Earls, Danny

Larentowicz, Jeff

Mastroeni, Pablo

Moor, Drew

Mullan, Brian

Nane, Joseph

Pickens, Matt

Smith, Jamie

Wynne, Marvell

Colorado Rapids Homegrown Players

Armstrong, David

Janniere, Josh

FC Dallas

Benitez, Jair

Castillo, Fabian

Chavez, Marvin

Ferreira, David

Goncalves, Jackson

Hartman, Kevin

Ihemelu, Ugo

Jacobson, Andrew

John, George

Loyd, Zach

Shea, Brek

FC Dallas Homegrown Players

Hernandez, Moises

Leyva, Bryan

Luna, Ruben

Sanchez, Richard

Top, Jonathan

Ulloa, Victor

Houston Dynamo

Ashe, Corey

Boswell, Bobby

Camargo, Luis

Cameron, Geoffrey

Carr, Calen

Clark, Colin

Davis, Brad

Hainault, Andrew

Hall, Tally

Moffat, Adam

Taylor, Jermaine

Houston Dynamo Homegrown Players

Deric, Tyler

Dixon, Alex

Navas, Francisco Cobo

Soto, Josue

LA Galaxy

Beckham, David

DeLaGarza, AJ

Donovan, Landon

Dunivant, Todd

Franklin, Sean

Gonzalez, Omar

Keane, Robbie

Magee, Mike

Pereira, Vitor

Ricketts, Donovan

Saunders, Josh

Homegrown Player

McBean, Jack

New England Revolution

Alston, Kevin

Feilhaber, Benny

Joseph, Shalrie

Lekic, Rajko

McCarthy, Stephen

Nyassi, Sainey

Reis, Matt  

Shuttleworth, Robert

Soares, A.J.

Tierney, Chris

Zerka, Moncef

New England Revolution Homegrown Player

Fagundez, Diego

New York Red Bulls

Henry, Thierry

Keel, Stephen

Lindpere, Joel

Marquez, Rafael

McCarty, Dax

Miller, Roy

Ream, Tim

Richards, Dane

Rodgers, Luke

Solli, Jan Gunnar

Tainio, Teemu

Homegrown Players

Agudelo, Juan

Hot, Sacir

Kassel, Matt

Philadelphia Union

Califf, Daniel

Carroll, Brian

Daniel, Keon

Farfan, Gabriel

Farfan, Michael

LeToux, Sebastien

Mwanga, Danny

Mondragon, Faryd

Torres, Roger

Valdes, Carlos

Williams, Sheanon

Homegrown Players

Pfeffer, Zachary

Portland Timbers

Alhassan, Kalif

Brunner, Eric

Chara, Diego

Cooper, Kenny

Danso, Mamadou “Futty”

Horst, David

Jewsbury, Jack

Palmer, Lovel

Perkins, Troy

Perlaza, Jorge

Wallace, Rodney

Real Salt Lake

Beckerman, Kyle

Beltran, Tony

Borchers, Nat

Espindola, Fabian

Johnson, Will

Morales, Javier

Olave, Jamison

Rimando, Nick

Saborio, Alvaro

Schuler, Chris

Wingert, Chris

Homegrown Players

Toia, Donny

San Jose Earthquakes

Baca, Rafael

Beitashour, Steve

Busch, Jon  

Cronin, Sam

Dawkins, Simon

Gordon, Alan

Hernandez, Jason

Lenhart, Steven

Morrow, Justin

Stephenson, Khari

Wondolowski, Chris

Seattle Sounders FC

Alonso, Osvaldo

Evans, Brad

Fernandez, Alvaro

Friberg, Erik

Hurtado, Jhon Kennedy

Montero, Fredy

Neagle, Lamar

Ochoa, Sammy

Parke, Jeff

Rosales, Mauro

Zakuani, Steve

Sporting Kansas City

Arnaud, Davy

Besler, Matthew

Bunbury, Teal

Collin, Aurelien

Espinoza, Roger

Kamara, Kei

Myers, Chance

Nielsen, Jimmy

Santos, Julio Cesar

Sapong, CJ

Zusi, Graham

Homegrown Players

Ellis, Kevin

Kempin, Jon

Toronto FC

Avila, Eric

Dunfield, Terry

Eckersley, Richard

Frei, Stefan  

Frings, Torsten

Harden, Ty

Iro, Andy

Johnson, Ryan

Kocic, Milos  

Koevermans, Danny

Plata, Joao

Toronto FC Homegrown Players

Cordon, Oscar

Henry, Doneil

Lindsay, Nicholas

Makubuya, Keith

Morgan, Ashtone

Stinson, Matthew

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Chiumiento, Davide

Demerit, Jay

Harris, Atiba

Harvey, Jordan

Hassli, Eric

Gerson, Koffie

Tan, Long

Mitchell, Carlyle

Rochat, Alain

Salinas, Shea

Sanvezzo, Camilo

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Homegrown Players

Davies, Philippe

Khalfan, Nizar

Sylvestre, Brian

Teibert, Russell