MIAMI, Fla. (November 17, 2019) —
This year’s MLS Expansion Draft kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.
A key point is that once a player has been claimed from a club’s list of eligible players, Nashville SC and Inter Miami may no longer select players from that club’s list. So if Inter Miami’s Sporting Director Paul McDonough is going to pick anyone from his former club, he will only be able to tap into his knowledge of Atlanta United once in the expansion draft.
While there aren’t really many big-time goal-scorers to be found in the pool of available players, there is a wealth of pricey veteran defenders. And both expansion teams are already building up strength in midfield/ defensive midfield, they appear to not have much need at those positions in Tuesday’s draft.
For those who want to watch live, MLSsoccer.com’s 2019 MLS Expansion Draft live studio show will bring fans all of the selections in real-time, providing expert analysis on each team’s picks.
With a pool of 220 players, no clear cut favourites and only ten being selected, any attempt to create a “mock draft” is highly speculative at best. Only 4.5 % of the pool is being chosen by Miami or Nashville. That, my friends, makes predictions a guessing game. Disclaimers provided (what else would you expect?), let’s dive into the player pool and highlight a few players to watch.
PLAYERS AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION IN 2019 MLS EXPANSION DRAFT
Available Player List – Sorted By Team
MLS Club | Player Name | Pos. | Pts.* |
Atlanta United | Justin Meram | M | 96 |
Atlanta United | Michael Parkhurst | D | 77 |
Atlanta United | Jeff Larentowicz | M | 66 |
Atlanta United | Brek Shea | D | 52 |
Atlanta United | Florentin Pogba | D | 50 |
Atlanta United | Brandon Vazquez | F | 39 |
Atlanta United | Dion Pereira | M | 33 |
Atlanta United | Mikey Ambrose | D | 3 |
Atlanta United | Kevin Kratz | M | 1 |
Atlanta United | Jon Gallagher | D | 0 |
Atlanta United | Jose Hernandez | D | 0 |
Atlanta United | Alec Kann | GK | 0 |
Atlanta United | Brendan Moore | GK | 0 |
Atlanta United | Luiz Fernando | M | 0 |
Chicago Fire | Bastian Schweinsteiger | D | 161 |
Chicago Fire | Nicolas Gaitan | M | 145 |
Chicago Fire | Nemanja Nikolic | F | 120 |
Chicago Fire | David Ousted | GK | 64 |
Chicago Fire | Marcelo | D | 42 |
Chicago Fire | Diego Campos | D | 14 |
Chicago Fire | Amando Moreno | M | 8 |
Chicago Fire | Cristian Martinez | M | 5 |
Chicago Fire | Stefan Cleveland | GK | 0 |
Chicago Fire | Elliot Collier | M | 0 |
Chicago Fire | Richard Sanchez | GK | 0 |
Colorado Rapids | Tim Howard | GK | 99 |
Colorado Rapids | Danny Wilson | M | 61 |
Colorado Rapids | Axel Sjoberg | D | 8 |
Colorado Rapids | Niki Jackson | F | 4 |
Colorado Rapids | Kofi Opare | D | 3 |
Colorado Rapids | Abdul Rwatubyaye | D | 2 |
Columbus Crew SC | Hector Jimenez | D | 71 |
Columbus Crew SC | Federico Higuain | M | 65 |
Columbus Crew SC | Waylon Francis | D | 63 |
Columbus Crew SC | Luis Argudo | M | 57 |
Columbus Crew SC | David Guzman | M | 55 |
Columbus Crew SC | Connor Maloney | D | 36 |
Columbus Crew SC | Youness Mokhtar | M | 28 |
Columbus Crew SC | Ricardo Clark | M | 19 |
Columbus Crew SC | Romario Williams | F | 16 |
Columbus Crew SC | Eduardo Sosa | M | 14 |
Columbus Crew SC | Josh Williams | F | 10 |
Columbus Crew SC | Jon Kempin | GK | 8 |
Columbus Crew SC | Ben Lundgaard | GK | 0 |
Columbus Crew SC | Edward Opoku | M | 0 |
FC Cincinnati | Emmanuel Ledesma | M | 117 |
FC Cincinnati | Roland Lamah | M | 81 |
FC Cincinnati | Kekuta Manneh | F | 77 |
FC Cincinnati | Darren Mattocks | F | 72 |
FC Cincinnati | Przemyslaw Tyton | GK | 57 |
FC Cincinnati | Caleb Stanko | M | 51 |
FC Cincinnati | Justin Hoyte | D | 35 |
FC Cincinnati | Alvas Powell | D | 34 |
FC Cincinnati | Fanendo Adi | F | 24 |
FC Cincinnati | Forrest Lasso | D | 19 |
FC Cincinnati | Corben Bone | M | 8 |
FC Cincinnati | Nazmi Albadawi | M | 1 |
FC Cincinnati | Hassan Ndam | D | 0 |
FC Cincinnati | Logan Gdula | D | 0 |
FC Cincinnati | Jimmy Hague | GK | 0 |
FC Cincinnati | Ben Lundt | GK | 0 |
FC Cincinnati | Jimmy McLaughlin | M | 0 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Jordan Harvey | D | 148 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Tyler Miller | GK | 139 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Steven Beitashour | D | 114 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Lee Nguyen | M | 70 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Mohamed El-Munir | D | 38 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Josh Perez | M | 28 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Adrien Perez | M | 17 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Peter-Lee Vassell | M | 10 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Danilo da Silva | D | 9 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Rodolfo Zelaya | F | 9 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Dejan Jakovic | D | 6 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Javier Perez | M | 1 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Lamar Batista | D | 0 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Phillip Ejimadu | GK | 0 |
Los Angeles Football Club | Alejandro Guido | M | 0 |
LA Galaxy | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | F | 272 |
LA Galaxy | Uriel Antuna | M | 129 |
LA Galaxy | Favio Alvarez | M | 87 |
LA Galaxy | Jorgen Skjelvik | D | 85 |
LA Galaxy | Chris Pontius | M | 51 |
LA Galaxy | Perry Kitchen | M | 32 |
LA Galaxy | Servando Carrasco | M | 21 |
LA Galaxy | Emil Cuello | M | 14 |
LA Galaxy | Diedie Traore | D | 13 |
LA Galaxy | Matt Lampson | GK | 2 |
LA Galaxy | Juninho Vitor Junior | M | 2 |
LA Galaxy | Tomas Hilliard-Arce | D | 0 |
LA Galaxy | João Pedro | M | 0 |
League Pool GK | Charlie Lyon | GK | 0 |
Minnesota United FC | Ethan Finlay | M | 111 |
Minnesota United FC | Angelo Rodriguez | F | 93 |
Minnesota United FC | Brent Kallman | D | 75 |
Minnesota United FC | Miguel Ibarra | M | 60 |
Minnesota United FC | Abu Danladi | F | 45 |
Minnesota United FC | Rasmus Schuller | M | 45 |
Minnesota United FC | Lawrence Olum | M | 26 |
Minnesota United FC | Wilfried Moimbe-Tahrat | D | 22 |
Minnesota United FC | Marlon Hairston | M | 18 |
Minnesota United FC | Carter Manley | D | 0 |
Minnesota United FC | Ally Ng’anzi | M | 0 |
Minnesota United FC | Wyatt Omsberg | D | 0 |
Minnesota United FC | Bobby Shuttleworth | GK | 0 |
Montreal Impact | Evan Bush | GK | 128 |
Montreal Impact | Maximiliano Urruti | F | 114 |
Montreal Impact | Bacary Sagna | D | 87 |
Montreal Impact | Rudy Camacho | D | 70 |
Montreal Impact | Jorge Corrales | D | 56 |
Montreal Impact | Zachary Brault-Guillard | D | 47 |
Montreal Impact | Anthony Jackson-Hamel | F | 43 |
Montreal Impact | Omar Browne | M | 38 |
Montreal Impact | Ken Krolicki | M | 19 |
Montreal Impact | Rod Fanni | D | 17 |
Montreal Impact | Amar Sejdic | M | 2 |
Montreal Impact | Jeisson Vargas | F | 0 |
New England Revolution | Juan Agudelo | M | 95 |
New England Revolution | Edgar Castillo | D | 83 |
New England Revolution | Juan Caicedo | F | 75 |
New England Revolution | Michael Mancienne | D | 52 |
New England Revolution | Jalil Anibaba | D | 28 |
New England Revolution | Cody Cropper | GK | 24 |
New England Revolution | Brad Knighton | GK | 21 |
New England Revolution | Brian Wright | F | 2 |
New York City FC | Ebenezer Ofori | M | 71 |
New York City FC | Sebastien Ibeagha | D | 65 |
New York City FC | Jesus Medina | M | 53 |
New York City FC | Ben Sweat | D | 50 |
New York City FC | Tony Rocha | D | 41 |
New York City FC | Gary Mackay-Steven | M | 34 |
New York City FC | Eric Miller | D | 28 |
New York City FC | Brad Stuver | GK | 20 |
New York City FC | Daniel Bedoya | M | 1 |
New York City FC | Juan Pablo Torres | M | 1 |
New York City FC | Luis Barraza | GK | 0 |
New York City FC | Jeff Caldwell | GK | 0 |
New York City FC | Abdi Mohamed | D | 0 |
Orlando City SC | Brian Rowe | GK | 143 |
Orlando City SC | Lamine Sane | D | 118 |
Orlando City SC | Will Johnson | M | 87 |
Orlando City SC | Robinho | M | 72 |
Orlando City SC | Sacha Kljestan | M | 66 |
Orlando City SC | Carlos Ascues | D | 63 |
Orlando City SC | Kyle Smith | D | 48 |
Orlando City SC | Shane O’Neill | D | 36 |
Orlando City SC | Cristian Higuita | M | 33 |
Orlando City SC | Dillon Powers | M | 27 |
Orlando City SC | Alex De John | D | 18 |
Orlando City SC | Greg Ranjitsingh | GK | 7 |
Orlando City SC | Adam Grinwis | GK | 0 |
Philadelphia Union | Haris Medunjanin | M | 196 |
Philadelphia Union | Marco Fabian | M | 91 |
Philadelphia Union | Aurelien Collin | D | 21 |
Philadelphia Union | Warren Creavalle | M | 20 |
Philadelphia Union | Olivier Mbaizo | D | 16 |
Philadelphia Union | Joe Bendik | GK | 13 |
Philadelphia Union | Fabinho | D | 1 |
Philadelphia Union | Michee Ngalina | F | 1 |
Philadelphia Union | RJ Allen | D | 0 |
Portland Timbers | Zarek Valentin | D | 63 |
Portland Timbers | Claude Dielna | D | 58 |
Portland Timbers | Andy Polo | M | 49 |
Portland Timbers | Andres Flores | M | 39 |
Portland Timbers | Jeff Attinella | GK | 37 |
Portland Timbers | Tomas Conechny | M | 34 |
Portland Timbers | Renzo Zambrano | M | 34 |
Portland Timbers | Dairon Asprilla | M | 31 |
Portland Timbers | Modou Jadama | D | 2 |
Portland Timbers | Aljaz Ivacic | GK | 0 |
Portland Timbers | Kendall McIntosh | GK | 0 |
Real Salt Lake | Nick Rimando | GK | 138 |
Real Salt Lake | Kelyn Rowe | M | 38 |
Real Salt Lake | João Plata | M | 25 |
Real Salt Lake | Justin Portillo | M | 5 |
Real Salt Lake | Luke Mulholland | M | 1 |
Real Salt Lake | Tony Beltran | D | 0 |
Real Salt Lake | Alex Horwath | GK | 0 |
Real Salt Lake | Pablo Ruiz | M | 0 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Harold Cummings | D | 71 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Marcos Lopez | D | 61 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Paul Marie | D | 15 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Carlos Fierro | M | 11 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Francois Affolter | D | 3 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Eric Calvillo | M | 2 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Luis Felipe | M | 2 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Kevin Partida | D | 1 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Matt Bersano | GK | 0 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Jimmy Ockford | D | 0 |
San Jose Earthquakes | Andrew Tarbell | GK | 0 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Harry Shipp | M | 93 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Victor Rodriguez | M | 73 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Roman Torres | D | 63 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Saad Abdul-Salaam | D | 50 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Chad Marshall | D | 41 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Will Bruin | F | 27 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Alex Roldan | M | 23 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Jonathan Campbell | D | 17 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Justin Dhillon | F | 9 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Luis Silva | F | 8 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Emanuel Cecchini | M | 6 |
Seattle Sounders FC | Bryan Meredith | GK | 0 |
Sporting Kansas City | Benny Feilhaber | M | 102 |
Sporting Kansas City | Krisztian Nemeth | F | 89 |
Sporting Kansas City | Botond Barath | D | 85 |
Sporting Kansas City | Seth Sinovic | D | 80 |
Sporting Kansas City | Andreu Fontas | D | 38 |
Sporting Kansas City | Nicolas Hasler | D | 28 |
Sporting Kansas City | Gedion Zelalem | M | 16 |
Sporting Kansas City | Jimmy Medranda | D | 13 |
Sporting Kansas City | Eric Dick | GK | 1 |
Sporting Kansas City | Rodney Wallace | D | 1 |
Toronto FC | Justin Morrow | D | 100 |
Toronto FC | Laurent Ciman | D | 57 |
Toronto FC | Tsubasa Endoh | M | 50 |
Toronto FC | Drew Moor | D | 47 |
Toronto FC | Eriq Zavaleta | D | 41 |
Toronto FC | Patrick Mullins | F | 31 |
Toronto FC | Nicolas Benezet | M | 28 |
Toronto FC | Ashtone Morgan | D | 14 |
Toronto FC | Ryan Telfer | D | 5 |
Toronto FC | Jon Bakero | M | 0 |
Toronto FC | Caleb Patterson-Sewell | GK | 0 |
A note about the points used to rank the player pool: The points gathered come from this years’s MLS Fantasy Game. While that is obviously a less-than-ideal way to rank a player’s potential, it is an attempt to provide some guidance based on a player’s performance over the 2019 season. A player who has a ‘0’ for his score doesn’t mean that he is not worth a look. It simply reflects that he lacked playing time during the past season.
The Russo Soccer Top 50 Players in 2019 Expansion Draft



Overview
With teams only being able to protect twelve senior roster slot players, most teams left second and/or third string goalkeepers unprotected. Also, players who have announced their retirement but who are under contract until the end of the year were also naturally left unprotected. Zlatan Ibrahimovitch of the LA Galaxy has announced his departure from MLS, and thus was a natural choice to make the Galaxy’s unprotected player list. The list also features more than a few high-priced older players.
Players To Watch
Forwards
Atlanta United’s Brandon Vasquez is a strong choice to be selected by Inter Miami CF. Vazquez signed with Atlanta United as a Discovery Signing via transfer from Club Tijuana on Dec. 2, 2016. He made eight appearances as a substitute as a forward/winger in MLS and two starts in US Open Cup in 2018. Vazquez scored just a minute into his MLS debut at Real Salt Lake on April 22, 2017 and added two goals and an assist in two US Open Cup starts in 2017. This past season saw him have limited time, appearing in 11 matches, scoring 2 goals and adding 1 assist across 637 minutes played. He was recently added to the US Under 23 Men’s National Team, coached by Inter Miami’s Jason Kreis, ahead of their 2-0 win in a friendly against Japan. Vasquez was in that squad and earned an appearance, coming on in the 72nd minute.

New England Revolution forward Juan Caicedo is also a player to watch. The Colombian joined the Revs from Independiente Medellin and has experience playing in the Colombian first division. He has tallied 89 goals in nearly 300 appearances across all competitions through nine professional seasons in the top divisions of Colombia and Argentina and has experience in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. He appeared in 27 games for New England, starting 13 and scoring five goals.

Montréal Impact forward Maximiliano Urruti would offer a combination of skill and MLS experience. The 28-year old Argentine originally came to MLS in 2013 as a high-profile signing by Toronto FC from Newell’s Old Boys of Argentina. The Impact acquired him via a trade with FC Dallas in December 2018. He made 31 appearances for the Les Montréalais during the 2019 season, starting 27 of those matches and netting 4 goals on a team that failed to create enough scoring chances and often struggled to find a rhythm under former coach Remi Garde.

Midfielders
LA Galaxy’s Uriel Antuna, already a Mexican international, is one of the top players in the expansion draft. The 22 year-old speedy winger who is on loan from Manchester City has drawn interest from both Chivas de Guadalajara and Portuguese giants Sport Lisboa e Benfica. Antuna is believed to have signed a contract extension with City through 2022. He remains on loan with the Galaxy through the end of the season but his future beyond that point has not been determined. He scored 6 goals and contributed 5 assists for the Galaxy during the 2019 season.

Seattle Sounders midfielder Victor Rodriguez is an experienced, versatile, attacking threat who can play on either wing or as an attacking midfielder. The veteran has over 127 appearances in LaLiga dating back to the 2012-13 season he spent with Real Zaragoza. Rumours in a Seattle say that Rodriguez wants to return to Spain for personal reasons. However he might be a gamble someone’s willing to take, because he might well be the best available player and has a low cost-to-skill ratio. He helped to seal the victory over Toronto in MLs Cup with a wonderful shot from the edge of the penalty box that eluded goalkeeper Quentin Westberg in the 76th minute. After winning the MLS Cup MVP, he’s no longer flying under the radar, either. I could see Miami selecting him and using TAM money to give him a raise, also making his trips home to Barcelona much easier.

Haris Medunjanin isn’t typically mentioned in discussions about marquee players brought into MLS from overseas in recent years. But given the season he had in 2019 for the Philadelphia Union, perhaps he should be. A former Bosnia and Herzegovina national team player, at 34 years of age, is among a bunch of veterans left unprotected by their teams. Medunjanin has played a key role in the Union’s offense since arriving from Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2017. Positionally, he has played as a deep-lying No. 10 given his wide range of passing. But when Philly adopted a new system in 2019, he took on more defensive responsibilities as a No. 6. He’s also very durable, starting all 34 of the Union’s games this past season. Off the pitch, he has embraced the role of being a veteran leader and role-model for younger players, providing advice and constructive criticism on their play. On this point, he told mlssoccer.com: “I know myself when I was younger, it was harder and you played with a lot of more-experienced players and they would be like cursing you out when you did something wrong,” Medunjanin said. “Like that you learn, and sometimes as a player we should be hard on the younger players to get better.” Medunjanin is out of contract, so the choosing team would have to strike a new deal with him.

Atlanta United FC’s Justin Meram, a veteran MLS winger who spent five seasons with the Columbus Crew, was traded to Atlanta and was a contributor to both the regular season and the U.S. Open Cup during the 2019 campaign. He also plays on the Iraq National Team. He quickly became a fan favourite in Atlanta. “I’m very thankful for the fans bringing me in as one of their own from the get go,” he said. “They didn’t really look back on the past year I had, a little bit of the struggles. They looked at me as, ‘This guy could help.’ That gave me a little bit of confidence coming in.”

Orlando City midfielder Robinho (Francisco Wellington Barbosa de Lisboa) at age 24, is still a player with potential. The native of Recife, PE, Brazil was acquired by Orlando from Columbus Crew during the summer transfer window. The Brazilian midfielder last played for Ceará Sporting Club in Brazil’s First Division during the second half of the 2018 season, where he made two appearances in the Brazilian First Division – Serie A – following a loan stint at Santa Cruz Futebol Clube of Brazil’s Third Division during the first half of the 2018 season. While at Santa Cruz, Robinho made 37 appearances across all competitions for Santa Cruz, scoring eight goals. Robinho shows signs of being a creative player who can help unlock defenses with his movement and pace. He can provide some speed and quality out on the edge of the pitch and is an affordable player.

It’s worth noting that an Atlanta United veteran who has had an exemplary career in MLS is also on the list of available players. I would of course be referring to none other than midfielder Jeff Laurentowicz, 36, who studied and played at Brown University.
Defenders
Orlando City SC Lamine Sané is one of the top ranked defenders among available players. The 32-year-old French born Senegalese international just completed his second season with the Lions, after spending the previous two seasons with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. Sané is the vocal leader of the back line, shouting out instructions from the first to the last whistle. He featured in 26 games this season at Orlando, starting all but one of those matches. Orlando City coach James O’Connor brought Sané to the forefront this past season, moving to a four-back defensive platform and placing him alongside the Swede Robin Jansson. Sané’s height, at 6 feet, 4 inches (1.72 m) is an asset, allowing him to cut down corners and crosses.

Olivier Mbaizo of the Philadelphia Union could be a good choice for either Miami or Nashville. The 22-year-old right back from Douala, Cameroon hasn’t seen much playing time with the Union, losing some time to injuries, and thus didn’t make the top 50 list above. However, he has much potential, is not overpriced, and already is a regular on the national teams of his native Cameroon. It came as a surprise to many followers of the Union to see him among the unprotected players. Mbaizo is also likely to have some significant sale value in the future. This month, he has played for Cameroon’s national team at the under-23 men’s Africa Cup of Nations. He was on the field for every minute of the group stage, and helped set up the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Mali. The team, however, ended up finishing third in the group stage and fell short of the semifinals.

Los Angeles Football Club defender Mohamed El-Munir is fast and displays excellent control on the ball. The Libyan international has 19 caps for his country and made 15 appearances for LAFC this past season.

San Jose Earthquakes defender Marcos Lopez, who is only 20 years old, would be a choice based on potential future dividends. The native of Callao, Peru transferred to San Jose from Sporting Cristal Lima and signed a multi-year contract ahead of the 2019 season. Lopez is a young left back that has already made an international appearance with Peru in August 2018 at the age of 18 when he appeared in a game against Germany. He can also play further up the pitch as a left winger. Lopez has a very successful first season with Sporting Cristal Lima, helping the club have a +62 goal differential, the best in the Peruvian league, and helped them earn qualification to the Copa Libertadores group stage. He played in 18 games for the Quakes in 2019, starting 15. This month he was called to the Peru National Team for a pair of international friendlies against Colombia (played last Friday at Hard Rock Stadium) and Chile.

Goalkeepers
Among the numerous goalkeepers on the unprotected list, several have accumulated significant experience in MLS. Most teams. Among them are Orlando City’s Brian Rowe, who is 31, and longtime Impact de Montréal keeper Evan Bush, who is 33.
Evan Bush of the Impact de Montréal has been consistently good for several seasons. An MLS original with the Impact, Bush completed his eighth season with Montréal. In 2018, he had a career-high 10 clean sheets and was the MLS’ top goalkeeper according to the Audi Player Index. He had a breakout season in 2015, starting 31 games, after only starting 15 games across his first three MLS seasons. He was a finalist for the 2015 Concacaf Goalkeeper of the Year award, following an outstanding Concacaf Champions League campaign in 2015 that saw him win the CCL Golden Glove award.

Brian Rowe of Orlando City SC is another available keeper. The 31-year-old goalkeeper completed his eighth season in MLS in 2019, after beginning his career in Los Angeles with the Galaxy in 2012. He earned 7 clean sheets in 2019, playing in 32 games for Orlando City. Rowe was exceptional in 2016 with the Galaxy, where he recorded 31 appearances, earning nine clean sheets and earning a 1.07 goals-against average en route to the playoffs. During that 2016 season, Rowe allowed the fewest goals (33) in MLS by any goalkeeper that appeared in a minimum of 30 matches. Rowe also finished third in MLS with 113 saves.

A younger choice at goalkeeper would be Los Angeles Football Club’s Tyler Miller. The 26-year old keeper started 28 games for LAFC this past season. He posted nine clean sheets in the process. Miller was the number one choice at goalkeeper up until last summer’s Gold Cup.Thereafter, he split time with Pablo Sisniega, whom LAFC chose to protect in the expansion draft. A player of Miller’s calibre is a tempting choice for either Inter Miami or Nashville. By leaving him unprotected, LAFC might be hoping he is selected, thus ensuring that none of their other unprotected players can be taken. It would be one way of solving the debate at goal keeper, and not having to renegotiate a contract for Miller, who is out of contract in Los Angeles.

Danish goalkeeper David Ousted of the Chicago Fire, 34, is also available. Ousted has been a starter for most of his six seasons in MLS, including five with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He is considered one of the more consistent keepers in the league, and holds numerous club records for Vancouver including wins, clean sheets and starts. He was finalist for goalkeeper of the year honours in 2015 with the Caps, who also won the Voyageur Cup (Canadian Championship) that year.

Two 40 year-old goalkeepers were left unprotected, but both have already announced their retirements. Nick Raimondo of Real Salt Lake was one of the best goalkeepers in MLS history. The legendary Tim Howard has also announced his retirement from the game.
Conclusion
Whatever the results of this expansion draft, there are certainly some quality players that Inter Miami and Nashville can acquire to assist them in building their initial rosters. The players they select can of course also be used in trades for other players, draft choices, allocation money or international player slots, so it’s not necessarily the player you obtain, but what you could acquire in exchange for that player.
It’s an interesting time of the year in MLS.
