Editorial (December 10, 2017) – The 2017 MLS Expansion Draft is scheduled for this Tuesday, December 12, 2017. Expansion side Los Angeles FC will get to select 5 players from existing MLS teams. In preparation, MLS teams are preparing their protected rosters.
The LA Galaxy have announced their protected roster. Here’s the LA Galaxy protected roster and what it means.
2017 MLS Expansion Draft: LA Galaxy Protected List and Breakdown
The LA Galaxy protected list is as follows: Romain Alessandrini, Emmanuel Boateng, Ashley Cole, Giovani Dos Santos, Jonathan Dos Santos, Baggio Husidic, Sebastian Lleget, João Pedro, Dave Romney, Daniel Steres, and Gyasi Zardes. Automatically protected are Galaxy Homegrown Players Bradford Jamieson IV and Hugo Arellano.
With that, here are list of LA Galaxy players available for selection by LAFC: Michael Ciani, Bradley Diallo, Clement Diop, Rafael Garcia, Jermaine Jones, Jon Kempin, Ariel Lassiter, Jack McInerney, Brian Rowe, and Pele van Anholt.
Reactions to the list:
Every decision seems pretty straight forward. The Galaxy declined contract options on almost half the roster from the 2017 season. Only two players currently under contract with the Galaxy have been exposed: Michael Ciani, a 33-year-old center back who might not even start, and Ariel Lassiter, a 23-year-old striker still getting used to MLS.
This year’s Expansion Draft wasn’t going to be a big risk for the Galaxy even with a rival expansion team. They cut bait with most of their dead weight, so there isn’t much value to expose.
Who could LAFC pick from this list?
In short, probably no one. LAFC will get to select 5 players in the draft and cannot select more than one player from each team. With 22 existing teams in the league, less than 25% of the league will even lose a player.
Remember also that if LAFC pick a Reserve or Supplemental Roster player, they must have them on their Senior Roster. So if LAFC is going to pick a young/cheap/bench player, they have to really like that player.
I don’t seek LAFC even giving a second thought to most of the Galaxy’s unprotected players. None of the three keepers are as good as some of the others they could choose from. Ciani made $600,000 this year which is a lot of money. Jermaine Jones is also really expensive. Rafael Garcia and Jack McInerney aren’t worth Senior Team roster spots. Pele van Anholt is months away from recovering from his ACL tear.
Bradley Diallo could be on their radar. He’s a cheap outside back who can play a few different positions. He showed some promise with the Galaxy this past year. I think there’s better and more proven talent elsewhere in the league. Diallo will also take up an International Slot in 2018, which could be a deal breaker. But if anyone on this list is getting picked, my money would be on Diallo.
Prediction: As much as LAFC would love to troll the Galaxy and pick a player, I think they look elsewhere. The Galaxy will lose no players in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.
Last Word:
The Galaxy chose to protect both Ashley Cole and Baggio Husidic. Both are officially out of contract as of December 10, 2017. There has been some indication that the club wants to bring both of them back. The Galaxy brass choosing to protect both of them indicates that is still the goal. We’ll see if they can work things out with both players.
