John Spencer and the Portland Timbers will have the first pick in the 2001 Expansion Draft

MLS OUTLINES 2011 EXPANSION DRAFT

I know we are all jazzed up for MLS Cup, but there is a very interesting and exciting Expansion Draft on tap for Wednesday, November 24.

The list of unprotected players that will be available to expansion Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will be made available on Monday, November 22.

Nothing new in that exisiting MLS teams can protect 11 players, but that list must include Designated Players (DP’s with no-trade clauses).  Generation adidas players and Home Grown players are not available for the Expansion Draft and do not need to be protected.

(NOTE: MLS has just graduated 11 players from Generation adidas, CLICK HERE for more information)

Portland will pick first and then the teams will alternate picks, each selecting ten players.  MLS clubs cannot lose more than two players in the Expansion Draft, and can add another player to it’s protected list when one is selected by either expansion team.

Some interesting wrinkles in the 2011 edition of the Expansion Draft…

• MLS Clubs that have more than three International Players can only leave three fewer than their total number of international players on their roster unprotected. So if a team has four foreign players, it can only look to dump one into the draft.  Teams with three or less Internationals can’t leave more than one international player unprotected.
• US players are not considered internationals for Toronto FC, but Canadians are considered internationals for US based clubs.

I will post the list of available players when they are released, and the staff and I will put together our predictions, but for now, here are the complete 2011 Expansion Draft rules, as distributed by the MLS Communications Department.

EXPANSION DRAFT RULES

• MLS Clubs may protect 11 players between their Senior and their Developmental Roster.  If the Player’s contract expires at the end of 2010, he will still be considered part of the Club’s Senior Roster.

• If a Club protects a player, it is not obligated to exercise the player’s option. It may renegotiate a new budget number for the player as in previous years.

• If a player retires, he will not be a part of the Senior Roster, but his Club will lose its right of first refusal to him should he ultimately decide to play.

• Players on a Club’s Developmental Roster, other than Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the 2010 MLS Season or Home Grown Players on a Club’s developmental roster, will be part of the expansion draft.

• Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the 2010 MLS Season and Home Grown Players on a Club’s developmental roster at the end of the 2010 MLS Season are automatically protected (Clubs do not have to use a protected slot on them).

• If Vancouver/Portland select a Developmental Player, it must offer him a Senior Roster position and he must be on the Senior Roster as of Roster Compliance Date.

• Clubs are restricted in the number of international player(s) that they may make available.  Clubs may make available a number of international players equal to their total number of international players minus three, provided that if a Club has three or fewer international players it may make available not more than one.

• For purposes of this expansion process,

For US-based Clubs — any non-domestic US player (players that do not hold U.S. Citizenship or Residency) will count as an International

For Toronto FC — any non-domestic US player or non-domestic Canadian players (players that do not hold Canadian OR U.S. Citizenship or Residency) will count as an International.

• Designated players are NOT automatically protected (i.e., Clubs must choose whether to protect such players and if such player is not protected, he will be available for selection in the Expansion Draft). However, if the Designated Player has a no-trade clause in his contract, then his MLS club must protect him and he will count as one of the 11 players who may be protected.

• Maximum Player Loss:  Once two (2) players have been claimed from a Club’s non-protected roster, that Club is eliminated from the expansion draft and may not lose any further players. In addition, once a player has been claimed from a Club’s non-protected roster, that Club may move a player from its non-protected roster to its protected roster.

• Right to Negotiate: Vancouver and Portland will have the right to renegotiate a drafted player’s salary (either up or down) without having to place such player on waivers or giving his previous Club a right of first refusal.

• Priority: On the first day of the Discovery/Allocation Period, each of Vancouver and Portland will have priority over players on its USL roster and one additional player in the USL not on its roster, subject to another MLS Club’s right of first refusal.

Book Me Baby!