Preparing for the Expansion Draft

With the MLS play-off semi finals being concluded tonight, that means we are a scant ten days away from the expansion draft. For those unfamiliar with the draft itself, it's basically a system whereby teams can "steal" players from other teams. Each club is allowed to protect 11 of their players (including DPs and internationals) with all others remaining "unprotected" and open for a different club to take them away. The only exception to this rule is Generation Adidas players which we won't really get into with this post as that system can get a bit convoluted.

Anyway, the reason why I bring this up is because the Timbers have the first Expansion Draft pick due to a coin flip that Vancouver actually won. So we get the first Expansion Draft pick and they get the first Super Draft pick (more on that as it draws closer).

Over the next week, starting tomorrow, we'll be evaluating players on other teams and who is likely to be left unprotected and chosen by our FO. You'll want to stay tuned because chances are that these players will make up the bulk of our team (with a few probably being snagged to trade).

Excited? I know I am.