SANDY, Utah (Monday, December 12, 2016) – Real Salt Lake has announced the 11 players on the club’s Protected Player list in advance of the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft, taking place this Tuesday, December 12. Minnesota United and Atlanta United will select five players each with no club losing more than one player to the expansion sides.
The following 11 RSL players will not be eligible for selection by Minnesota and Atlanta when Major League Soccer’s two newest clubs make their selections:
GK Nick Rimando
DF Tony Beltran
DF Aaron Maund
DF Demar Phillips
DF Chris Schuler
MF Kyle Beckerman
MF Luke Mulholland
MF Sunday Stephen
FW Yura Movsisyan
FW Joao Plata
FW Juan Manuel Martinez
- MLS rules require clubs to make available a number of international players equal to their total number of international players minus three. Because of that rule, RSL must protect a third international player even though it does not have a third under contract for the 2017 season.
In addition to those 11 players, Homegrown Players MF Danilo Acosta, FW Jordan Allen, GK Lalo Fernandez, DF Justen Glad, FW Sebastian Saucedo and FW Ricardo Velazco, along with Generation adidas MF Omar Holness are exempt from the draft and cannot be selected.
With the Protected Player list established, this means that the following players currently under contract with Real Salt Lake will be available for selection by Minnesota and Atlanta:
Goalkeepers: Jeff Attinella
Defenders: Phanuel Kavita, Boyd Okwuonu, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert
Midfielders: Javier Morales, John Stertzer
Forwards: Pedro Baez, Olmes Garcia, Devon Sandoval, Emery Welshman
Real Salt Lake History in MLS Expansion Drafts
2006: Toronto FC – Jason Kreis selected (re-acquired by RSL in exchange for allocation money)
2007: San Jose Earthquakes – no RSL player selected
2008: Seattle Sounders FC – Nathan Sturgis selected
2009: Philadelphia Union – no RSL player selected (RSL traded Chris Seitz to Union in exchange for allocation money on eve of expansion draft)
2010: Portland Timbers/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC – Portland selected Robbie Findley and David Horst
2011: Montreal Impact – Collen Warner selected
2014: New York City FC/Orlando City SC – NYCFC selected Ned Grabavoy and Chris Wingert
** Prior to its inaugural 2005 campaign, Real Salt Lake selected Andy Williams, D.J. Countess, Pablo Brenes, Brian Kamler, Nelson Akwari, Chris Brown, Matt Behncke, Rusty Pierce, Kevin Ara and Erick Scott in the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft on November 19, 2004.
