What goes around comes around. A year after selecting five players from other Major League Soccer teams, Austin FC announced Tuesday which 12 players it will protect from selection when Charlotte FC selects five total names during the 2021 Expansion Draft.
Here's who will NOT be eligible for selection at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
Protected by Austin FC
- Julio Cascante
- Moussa Djitté
- Cecilio Domínguez
- Sebastián Driussi
- Diego Fagúndez
- Žan Kolmanič
- Nick Lima
- Tomás Pochettino
- Rodney Redes
- Alex Ring
- Jhohan Romaña
- Brad Stuver
Automatically protected
- Dani Pereira
- Owen Wolff
Available for selection
- McKinze Gaines
- Jon Gallagher
- Danny Hoesen
- Héctor Jiménez
- Freddy Kleemann
- Kekuta Manneh
- Will Pulisic
- Aaron Schoenfeld
- Brady Scott
- Ulises Segura
- Aeden Stanley
- Jared Stroud
- Ben Sweat
- Andrew Tarbell
Were there any surprises?
As a matter of fact, no. I made my projections back on Nov. 22, and came up with the exact same list that Austin FC sporting director Claudio Reyna did. And no, I didn't actually speak to Claudio before writing that column, but I did give reasons for each selection. You can read that analysis here.
Who's most likely to be selected?
Three names jump to mind: Andrew Tarbell, Héctor Jiménez and Jon Gallagher.
The good news when it comes to Tarbell might be that Charlotte FC already picked up a goalkeeper with MLS starts under his belt when the expansion club traded for Pablo Sisniega from Los Angeles FC. That said, Sisniega is far from proven having started only eight matches in 2021. Tarbell would be tossed into another preseason competition if he does land in the Queen City.
Jiménez showed this season that he's still a serviceable starter, and his versatility was a major asset for Verde, especially when depth became thin on the backline. By the end of the campaign, Jiménez was splitting starts with Nick Lima — who was expected to be a centerpiece for Josh Wolff's squad. Jiménez is 33, but his experience and winning pedigree could make him an enticing pick.
Last but certainly not least, Gallagher checks a lot of the boxes for an expansion roster: he's relatively cheap, he can play a lot of different positions and he's proven that he can score goals. And while his production for Austin FC wasn't quite enough to land a protected spot, the $225,000 that ATX sent to Atlanta United in a trade last winter sure felt worth it at a few critical points in the season when Austin FC was without a forward and a right back. Who else can play both of those roles?
Wait, aren't some of these guys already leaving?
Yes, just because a player's contract is expiring or he had an option that wasn't exercised doesn't make him exempt from the expansion draft. Remember, ATX fell into this trap last season by selecting Joe Corona, who was later picked up by Houston Dynamo FC in the re-entry process because he was out of contract. The same thing could have happened with Danny Hoesen, but he signed with ATX and withdrew from the re-entry process.
Kekuta Manneh, Aaron Schoenfeld and Ben Sweat are all free agents, which makes it extremely unlikely for them to be selected. Stroud, Stanley and Scott also had their options declined, and Charlotte would be risking a Corona situation if it selected them and couldn't come to terms on a contract.
Could Austin FC trade for an expansion pick?
Yes. That happened last year, when Montreal acquired Kamal Miller from Austin FC for $225,000 in general allocation money (GAM), after Verde drafted him from Orlando City. Technically, these trades don't happen until after the draft is over, but it's possible Reyna could be on the phone with Charlotte sporting director Zoran Krneta between now and 6 p.m. CT tomorrow.
And there are a few players who would be intriguing pickups for Austin, should Krneta be willing to listen. Josh Williams, Tristan Blackmon, Joevin Jones, Romain Metanire, Anton Tinnerholm and Larrys Mabiala are all experienced MLS defenders, most of whom have contracts that would fit into Austin FC's salary budget. If any of those guys aren't selected, it might be worth a call to their current clubs to see about a trade. Nobody likes to have their name on an unprotected list.