Revolution Protect 12 Players Ahead of Expansion Draft
See who the Revs protected ahead of Wednesday's expansion draft.
December 11 will see Major League Soccer newcomers San Diego FC continue building their roster ahead of their 2025 campaign as the expansion club participates in the 2025 MLS Expansion Draft.
Tuesday saw clubs across MLS finalize their protection list ahead of the event, which saw them protect up to 12 players.
Things were pretty simple for the New England Revolution. Recent signing Mamadou Fofana was ineligible for selection by San Diego. Homegrowns are automatically protected from selection in Expansion Drafts, which meant Esmir Bajraktarević, Noel Buck, Malcolm Fry, Peyton Miller, Jack Panayotou, Will Sands, and Santiago Suarez were safe.
Tuesday’s announcement saw the Revolution use their 12 available protections to keep goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič and Earl Edwards Jr., defenders Brandon Bye and Andrew Farrell, midfielders Emmanual Boateng, Dylan Borrero, Tomás Chancalay, Carles Gil, Luca Langoni, Matt Polster, and Alhassan Yusuf, and forward Giacomo Vrioni safe.
Borrero’s addition to the protection list is a tad odd considering the Revolution declined the club option for the Colombian midfielder during November 25th’s roster decisions.
The good news for Revolution fans is that the nine players available for San Diego’s choosing are not under contract for 2025. That list features defenders Xavier Arreaga, Nick Lima, Jonathan Mensah, Tim Parker, and Ryan Spaulding, midfielders Joshua Bolma, Nacho Gil, and Tommy McNamara, and forward Bobby Wood.
Through the previous 16 editions of MLS Expansion Drafts, the Revolution has seen 12 players selected. Francis Okaroh (1997), Brian Kamler (2004), Rusty Pierce (2004), José Cancela (2006), James Riley (2007), Khano Smith (2008), Brad Knighton (2009), Patrick Mullins (2014), Tony Taylor (2014), Femi Hollinger-Janzen (2016), Jalil Anibaba (2019), and Jon Bell had their Revolution tenures abruptly ended thanks to the Expansion Draft.
Fans looking to tune into Wednesday’s Expansion Draft can do so on San Diego FC’s website at 10:30 PM ET.
I did just have my eyes dilated today so might have missed but what about Yusuf? Maybe a weird typo for Borrero?
How long is the current CBA? I wonder if MLSPA will take the route the NWSLPA did and just eliminate drafts? There are other changes I’d prefer to see more, but reading about expansion drafts is starting to feel anachronistic.