On the same day the Dynamo acquired forward Jason Garey from the Columbus Crew in an attempt to fix the offense, Major League Soccer announced that Dynamo veterans Pat Onstad, Ryan Cochrane, Richard Mulrooney, Joseph Ngwenya and Adrian Serioux have made themselves eligible for the two-stage re-entry draft.

Like the players who entered the re-entry draft, Dynamo veteran defender Eddie Robinson’s 2011 option wasn’t picked up by the club. He can either retire, return to the Dynamo or play soccer in another country, but the Dynamo are actively looking to re-sign him for next season at a lower salary than his 2010 contract.

“The club is certainly going through a process of change in an effort to improve in 2011 and beyond,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “As part of that process, these players’ contract options were not exercised. Per the collective bargaining agreement these players have the right to go into the re-entry draft. Their futures with the club will ultimately be determined at some point after the draft.”

Thirty-five players who were either already out of contract or had their 2011 options declined this week, made themselves eligible for the 2011 draft. New York Red Bulls All-Star Juan Pablo Angel, one of the best players in the league, highlights the list of players.

The first stage of the re-entry draft will be next Wednesday. The second stage will be Dec. 15, and that will essentially serve as a waiver-wire draft

“Clubs must exercise the option for, or extend a Bona Fide Offer to, players selected in Stage 1,” according to MLS. “Players that were out of contract may either accept or reject the Bona Fide Offer. Should a player reject the offer, the drafting club will hold the right of first refusal for that player in MLS. Players with option years left on their contract will automatically be added to the drafting club’s roster.”

The Dynamo will pick fifth in the re-entry draft. Midfielder Anthony Obodai’s option wasn’t picked up, but he didn’t have enough service time in MLS to qualify for the re-entry draft, which was born out of the new collective bargaining agreement signed in the spring. Corey Ashe and Dominic Oduro, who are out of contract, also aren't in the re-entry draft.

“Dominic (Kinnear) is currently reviewing the list of players that have opted in from different clubs and will make determinations whether or not we want to select any of those players when our number is called on the Wednesday,” Canetti said. “While there are some interesting names on that list, several things need to be taken into consideration, including positional needs, a player’s age, a player’s health status and a player’s contract.”

The Dynamo appear more willing to pick from Stage 2, when they’ll be free to renegotiate the contracts of the players selected. Ngwenya’s role with the club already has been filled by Garey, who has scored 15 goals through 83 MLS games over his first five seasons in the league.

"He's a bit of a grinder," Kinnear, speaking from the Caribbean Cup in Martinique, said of Garey. "He scores goals in a lot of different ways."

The Dynamo gave up a fourth round pick in the 2015 MLS Super Draft for Garey, 26.

"We didn't really give up much for a guy that has a pretty good pedigree," Kinnear said of the Louisiana native.

jesus.ortiz@chron.com