On Tuesday at 11 am MT, teams around Major League Soccer can begin negotiating with free agents for the first time in league history as the first class of 26 players was announced on Monday. The crew of veteran players in the mix is an impressive mix of players from the last 10 years, but, as is the case with the 60 players eligible for the Re-Entry Draft as well, there are reasons ranging from salary to productivity that have prevented them from sticking with their former clubs.
Among the free agents are two former MLS Goalkeepers of the Year (Troy Perkins in 2006 and Jon Busch in 2008), a former MLS MVP (Mike Magee in 2013) and six of the top 48 goalscorers in MLS history.
Those six forwards have combined for 419 career goals and 165 assists, but the youngest of the bunch is 30-year-old Chad Barrett.
Here is the list of forwards available in free agency.
Chad Barrett, F, 30, Seattle Sounders FC
Career: 255 GP, 162 GS, 56 G, 30 A
2015: 18 GP, 9 GS, 5 G, 0 A
Edson Buddle, F, 34, LA Galaxy
Career: 304 GP, 220 GS, 100 G, 30 A
2015: 12 GP, 1 GS, 0 G, 0 A
Conor Casey, F, 34, Philadelphia Union
Career: 191 GP, 146 GS, 71 G, 24 A
2015: 14 GP, 2 GS, 3 G, 1 A
Kenny Cooper, F, 31, Montreal Impact
Career: 211 GP, 172 GS, 75 G, 20 A
2015: 1 GP (suffered a season-ending knee injury)
Alan Gordon, F, 34, LA Galaxy
Career: 223 GP, 122 GS, 49 G, 27 A
2015: 29 GP, 7 GS, 5 G, 0 A
Mike Magee, F, 31, Chicago Fire
Career: 286 GP, 209 GS, 64 G, 34 A
2015: 12 GP, 3 GS, 0 G, 2 A
There is a healthy crop of midfielders as well and includes former RSL stalwart Ned Grabavoy. Here is a look at the nine players in the midfield.
Eric Avila, M/D, 28, Orlando City SC
Career: 174 GP, 98 GS, 9 G, 16 A
2015: 21 GP, 15 GS, 1 G, 2 A
Brian Carroll, M, 34, Philadelphia Union
Career: 344 GP, 322 GS, 8 G, 17 A
2015: 22 GP, 21 GS, 0 G, 0 A
Ricardo Clark, M, 32, Houston Dynamo
Career: 277 GP, 262 GS, 31 G, 21 A
2015: 30 GP, 30 GS, 8 G, 1 A
Ned Grabavoy, M, 32, New York City FC
Career: 279 GP, 220 GS, 17 G, 31 A
2015: 26 GP, 22 GS, 2 G, 3 A
Nick LaBrocca, M, 31, Colorado Rapids
Career: 220 GP, 192 GS, 18 G, 18 A
2015: 13 GP, 6 GS, 1 G, 0 A
Jeff Larentowicz, M/D, 32, Chicago Fire
Career: 301 GP, 291 GS, 37 G, 18 A
2015: 29 GP, 29 GS, 6 G, 0 A
Justin Mapp, M, 31, Montreal Impact
Career: 303 GP, 243 GS, 22 G, 65 A
2015: 5 GP, 3 GS, 0 G, 0 A (suffered season-ending elbow injury)
Paulo Nagamura, M, 32, Sporting Kansas City
Career: 243 GP, 218 GS, 15 G, 20 A
2015: 21 GP, 17 GS, 3 G, 1 A
Nathan Sturgis, M, 28, Houston Dynamo
Career: 145 GP, 117 GS, 6 G, 6 A
2015: 18 G, 15 A, 1 G, 2 A
In another group of experienced veterans, there are All-Stars and MLS Cup winners among the defenders. Here are the seven men of the back line that make up the list.
Corey Ashe, D, 29, Orlando City SC
Career: 220 GP, 163 GS, 1 G, 21 A
2015: 9 GP, 8 GS, 0 G, 3 A
Bobby Burling, D, 31, Colorado Rapids
Career: 141 GP, 127 GS, 4 G, 2 A
2015: 22 GP, 22 GS, 2 G, 0 A
Ty Harden, D, 31, Chicago Fire
Career: 103 GP, 88 GS, 1 G, 1 A
2015: 5 GP, 4 GS, 1 G, 1 A
Michael Harrington, D, 29, Colorado Rapids
Career: 221 GP, 196 GS, 5 G, 18 A
2015: 14 GP, 14 GS, 0 G, 1 A
Stephen Keel, D, 32, FC Dallas
Career: 59 GP, 45 GS, 1 G, 3 A
2015: DNP, foot injury
Drew Moor, D, 31, Colorado Rapids
Career: 304 GP, 291 GS, 22 G, 7 A
2015: 22 GP, 22 GS, 1 G, 1 A
James Riley, D, 33, Colorado Rapids
Career: 251 GP, 230 GS, 3 G, 17 A
2015: 16 GP, 16 GS, 1 G, 0 A
And finally, the goalkeepers. Here Busch and Perkins are a pair of career highlights while Kyle Reynish is among the three former RSL players in the free agent pool.
Jon Busch, GK, 39, Chicago Fire
Career: 309 GP, 113-101-92, 83 SO, 1.28 GAA
2015: 12 GP, 3-8-1, 1 SO, 2.00 GAA
Troy Perkins, GK, 34, Seattle Sounders FC
Career: 217 GP, 75-87-54, 53 SO, 1.38 GAA
2015: 4 GP, 1-3-0, 0 SO, 0.85 GAA
Kyle Reynish, GK, 32, New York Red Bulls
Career: 9 GP, 2-1-5, 4 SO, 0.81 GAA
2015: 0 GP
Andrew Weber, GK, 32, Portland Timbers
Career: 12 GP, 2-5-4, 0 SO, 2.06 GAA
2015: 1 GP, 0-1-0, 0 SO, 3.00 GAA
