MLS will make available Monday the players eligible for selection by Charlotte in Tuesday’s MLS expansion draft.
Charlotte will select as many as five players. Twenty-two of the league’s 27 teams will participate. Atlanta United is one of those teams.
Each of the teams can protect as many as 12 of its players. Once a team loses a player it can pull back its remaining four players.
Designated Players, in Atlanta United’s case Josef Martinez, Ezequiel Barco and Luiz Araujo, are not automatically protected. Homegrown signings, and Atlanta United has a lot of those, are automatically protected.
Who I think Atlanta United will protect
Luiz Araujo
Ezequiel Barco
Alan Franco
Andrew Gutman
Brad Guzan
Franco Ibarra
Brooks Lennon
Josef Martinez
Marcelino Moreno
Miles Robinson
Santiago Sosa
Anton Walkes
Notes: I originally had Escobar on this list but the team traded him to LAFC on Sunday.
I think the team will protect Walkes as cover for its centerbacks. He’s an experienced and valuable starter.
Guzan’s status is a bit up in the air. A captain, he had another solid season but has a high salary ($805,000) and is 37 years old.
Who is automatically protected
George Bello, Homegrown
George Campebell, Homegrown
Machop Chol, Homegrown
Jackson Conway, Homegrown
Efrain Morales, Homegrown
Bryce Washington, Homegrown
Tyler Wolff, Homegrown
Who I think they will leave unprotected
Mo Adams
Mikey Ambrose
Josh Bauer
Jurgen Damm
Alex De John
Emerson Hyndman
Alec Kann
Erik Lopez
Ben Lundgaard
Jake Mulraney
Matheus Rossetto
Amar Sejdic
Erick Torres
Notes: The team didn’t pick up contract options for Adams, Bauer, Kann, Lundgaard and Torres, so they won’t be protected.
The biggest surprises on this list are likely Hyndman, Lopez and Rossetto.
Lopez was hyped by club President Darren Eales and Vice President Carlos Bocanegra before last season as a player with potential. That potential wasn’t realized last season. He scored just one goal and frequently didn’t make the gameday rosters. Plus, he has a salary of $508,300.
Hyndman missed most of last season because of a knee injury. That, combined with a high salary ($900,000), means Charlotte likely won’t select him so he may as well be left unprotected.
That leaves Rossetto. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rossetto is protected at the expense of either Walkes or Guzan (because of his high salary). Rossetto is a player that splits opinion. He has 36 appearances for the club but played just two standout games. He likely doesn’t have a high trade value. He’s a midfielder that doesn’t seem to excel in any one area. He has no goals, no assists and his expected goals and expected assists barely rise above 0.00. Plus, he has a very high salary ($662,500). Plus, if the team is considering changing its formation as Pineda and Bocanegra have said, Rossetto’s preferred defensive/central midfield position may no longer be a part of the plan.
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