Last week, Real Salt Lake announced that it had declined the options on four player contracts, but the last chapter hasn’t necessarily been written in the RSL careers for a pair of them. Midfielder Pecka and defenders Phanuel Kavita, Demar Phillips and Elias Vasquez all had their 2016 options declined after their first seasons with the Claret-and-Cobalt. However, General Manager Craig Waibel is actively seeking to retain Kavita and Phillips.
Kavita signed prior to the season as a Homegrown player after the Salt Lake City native and Highland High School product played four seasons at Clemson. He made two appearances for RSL in the regular season and added one more appearance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 18 matches with the USL affiliate with Real Monarchs SLC.
“He’s a good young player and a fantastic human being,” Waibel said. “It’s one of those sports things, you want the local guy. He’s driven to prove the people who have supported him his whole life right and he’s driven to make this work.”
Phillips also signed before the 2015 season after the Jamaican National Team defender played most of his career in Norway with Aalesund. The 32-year-old left back appeared in 18 matches in regular season play, 16 of them in a starting role. He added five starts in Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League play.
With injuries and national team commitments keeping him from being available more regularly and Waibel indicated that those factors could determine whether or not Phillips will be brought back for 2016.
“We’re chatting with him. He was brought in with high expectations. I obviously really believe in his ability. I believe in his athleticism and what he can bring. Unfortunately in the year with injuries and international call-ups he was really only available for about half of the games,” Waibel said. “There’s a fine balance between the performance that we get versus their country’s team. We are discussing with Demar how we go forward and what the balance is and if we can strike the right balance where we have the right commitment and performance on our side.”
Vasquez figured prominently for RSL in 2015. He came to Salt Lake from Comunicaciones in his native Guatemala and, like Phillips, figured to miss some time with international duty. By the end of the season he’d played 15 MLS matches and five more in Open Cup and Champions League play. With injuries to Chris Schuler and Jamison Olave, opportunities were plentiful but with the emergence of Aaron Maund a logjam in the position made him expendable.
“Elias we brought here believing he could be the No. 3 center back and over the course of the season we felt that Aaron Maund really proved to be that No. 3 choice and, for much of the season with the injuries we sustained, a starter,” Waibel said. “We felt that Aaron Maund deserved the credit for what he did this year and it kind of makes the decision for you.”
MLS will hold the Waiver Draft on Wednesday for players who had options declined and are not eligible the Re-Entry Draft or free agency.
