Cover photo by Earl Gardner. Image below courtesy of LAFC.

An expansion draft for LAFC will occur Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 2 PM.

This time around

The expansion draft rules are as they were for 2017:

each existing club can protect 11 players.

homegrown “off-budget,” i. e., not included in the salary cap’s senior roster, and Generation Adidas players are protected in addition those 11.

each existing team can lose only one player.

LAFC can acquire only five players.

We don’t know whether LAFC will keep the players it selects or sell them for more Targeted Allocated Money and General Allocation Money. What seems eminently clear is that LAFC will want to make an eye-opening impression. They might use either TAM or GAM to sign a big name.

Impacts on the Union

There is an assumption around the edges in Philly that LAFC might sign SoCal natives Maurice Edu and Chris Pontius. Should that be the case, the Union will have made it easy for them by declining their contract options, thus placing them out of contract and making them available.

The Union’s protected list does not have to include its Generation Adidas players, Josh Yaro and Andre Blake, who is in the option year of his GA contract. Nor must the club protect its four Homegrown Players: Derrick Jones, Auston Trusty, Adam Najem, and Anthony Fontana.

That leaves 13 players from whom to choose a protected list of 11. Exposing Jay Simpson seems obvious, given his high salary and low production.

So, will the Union protect Warren Creavalle or Jake McGuire? The answer depends in part on how the organization evaluates 16-year-old Academy number 8 Michael Pellegrino. The organization likes him, so, given that midfielder Creavalle’s limits are well-known, it seems likely they could expose Creavalle and protect McGuire.

The list

Protect – 11 Expose – 2 C. J. Sapong Jay Simpson Fafa Picault Marcus Epps Haris Medunjanin Alejandro Bedoya Warren Creavalle Richie Marquez Jack Elliott Ray Gaddis Keegan Rosenberry John McCarthy Jake McGuire

The bottom of the tea cup

If you read the leaves the way we do, they say Earnie Stewart assumes LAFC will draft unprotected team assets that can be sold for MLS funny money to spend on a big name. He has maneuvered his roster accordingly.

Current Union-Steel depth chart

Please find below our current Union-Steel combined depth chart to place the expansion draft protected list in context.

A key lies below it explaining colors, question marks, and combinations. As is no surprise, our matrix is arranged (1)-4-2-3-1 starting from the bottom of the page.

Our understanding is that the signed players may be practicing together this month, together with additions from the Academy as available and needed.

The current physical locations of the unsigned players are unknown to us.

Striker aka #9 Sapong Simpson* Burke* Left Flank Mid Picault Ilsinho?* Moar* Attacking Center Mid #10 ????? Najem Fontana Right Flank Mid Epps Herbers?* Nanco Defensive Center Mid #6 Medunjanin* Creavalle Chambers* Center Mid #8 Bedoya Jones Left Back Fabinho? ????? Real Left Center Back Marquez Trusty Right Center Back Elliott* Yaro Right Back Gaddis Rosenberry Mahoney Goalkeeper Blake* McCarthy McGuire

Key and notes

Black means returning to the Union.

“?????” means assumed offseason Union recruit. Currently, it is an empty chasm.

Red? means unsigned, but might return to the Union if a mutually acceptable contract can be negotiated.

Blue means returning to the Steel.

* an asterisk means international slot required.

Please note: Herbers would count as an international in 2018 unless he has green card status, because the GA contract that exempted him from the restriction is over. Yaro now has a green card in addition to his GA status, and Fabinho has a green card.

Sun Rocket devotees also note: If Fabino does not return, Matt Real would be the only left back in the entire organization. Without Fabinho, left back becomes a top priority Union offseason need, well ahead of attacking center mid.