Thought it would be good to bring discussion about these into one location. Here is the list of players available for the Waiver Draft which happens in about 10 minutes http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/11/19/mls-hold-waiver-draft-monday-330-pm-et
I don't recognize a lot of the names on here as they are bit part players, but some that there has been discussion about in places like twitter would be Corey Hertzog who may or may not be on a GA contract so he might be a 22 year old striker that wouldn't count against the cap and Julio Cesar which would be an interesting pickup because he has quality but is 34 and might crowd things up in the middle of the park if we add him to the mix.
Someone did mention that Philly had a homegrown player claim on Hertzog before 2011 draft and were denied so they might be someone who would look at him too. They pick just before Rapids.
After the waiver draft is done this page might help to keep track of who is available for re-entry draft. http://www.mlssoccer.com/mlstransactions/2013
Gabriel Gomez is also pretty decent, but he doesn't fill a need. And I think he would take an international slot.
I'm curious if Solli or Tainio will get picked up. Solli's contract last year was 185/185k and Tainio was 200/205k. I wonder what their options would move them up to if a team takes them.
Rapids pass on today's waiver draft http://www.coloradorapids.com/news/2012/11/rapids-pass-selecting-players-first-waiver-draft The only player selected was Cole Grossman by Real Salt Lake.
Not too surprised. Of all the players that seem to have quality, their 2012 contract was pretty high and I imagine their options for 2013 were equal or higher. Would any of these guys be worth going after now that they are free agents? It will be interesting to see who all ends up being available for Re-entry draft too. Am I correct in understanding that not all of the players who will be available for it have been announced yet. Teams only had to notify the league about players who were eligible for the waiver draft today right?
Kind of Surprised no one picked up Luis Zapata. Is it possible he asked to be released to play somewhere closer to Home? Is it possible his Salary jumps in 2013 (like Comminges was rumored to have done)?
Seriously people. The Re-Entry Draft hasn't happened yet! Last week - Waiver Draft for all players waived (other than Houston/LA players) who aren't eligible for the Re-Entry Draft (Edu and Zapata for the Rapids). Dec. 6th (according to the Rapids press release) - Phase 1 of the Re-Entry Draft. This is every player that was waived or who's option was not picked up or didn't renegotiate a new contract with their current team that is eligible. Any team but their current team can select them. Selecting them means the team is picking up their option year or, if they're out of options, giving the, a contract for next year at 105%(?) of their 2012 contract number. About a week later - Phase 2 of the Re-Entry Draft. Any player not chosen in Phase 1 that did not negotiate a new contract with their current team is eligible. Any team that selects a player has to extend them a bona fide offer (aka, nota 44K minimum salary offer to a 10 year vet) within a week of the draft or lose their rights. The player can accept or pass but if they pass on a bona fide offer their MLS rights still belong to the team that picks them. If they aren't picked or a bona fide offer is not made, no team will have the player's rights. After all teams get their pick the player's current team can pick them in this draft, which means the team would get to keep their rights if they mad them a bona fide offer, one that would probably be significantly less than the contract option they originally had on the player. Jan. 17th - 2013 SuperDraft - Standard college draft. Will probably be 2 rounds but MLS seems to change it every year. About a week after SuperDraft - 2013 Supplemental Draft - Essentially the remaining rounds of the Superdraft. due to the CBA thy actually hold it as two separate drafts but consider this like the 3rd day of the NFL draft when only the die-hards are paying attention. About a week before the beginning of the season - Waiver Draft - For players who who get waived in preseason. I think that covers the offseason drafts...
Opara was $185K guaranteed last year, presumably his option is for something similar, Tchani was $209K.
Well, I'm re-reading the tweets where I heard this (MLS people tweets, not random rumor) and I may have heard these wrong. If so, my mistake, don't want to contribute to gossip mills.
say what you will. but these would be great pick up's for the rapids. opara could fill in for wynne when his injured his fairly young could easily adapt to left back or right back possibly even cdm. pacey. decent in the air. like 6'2 i believe. tchani is a big guy not real clumsy decent dribbler not bad passing. but that price.... if they go in the draft opara will be picked fast.
This re-entry draft is going to have a bunch of names in it. Don't expect more then 2-3 to even be on Rapids radar though.
Interesting, the Revs declined the option on Feilhaber. I wonder if he makes it to the draft or if they're just renegotiating with him.
Per Ives he does not quailfy for re-entry. Teams must make trade for his rights with Revs, most think he will try to head back to Europe.
Not sure Benny's gonna have a lot of great options in Europe. Best guess - this is a move made so that the Revs/MLS can renegotiate his deal down to a more manageable number and see if another team is interested at that point. Feilhaber at $446,000 doesn't have many suiters. But Feilhaber at $200,000??? That might be interesting.
I hope we atleast think about ike opara. the guy is brilliant in the air. his a set piece guy his like 20-23 years old. his fast his not a bad defender in any word. his jumping is out of this world he beats tall guy's all the time at 6'2. if we could get him for 115 130 i would think it's a great move. the few times i've watched him his amazed me. good prospect that's already been in the league easy transition would be nice to have pair of young but experienced at pro level legs waiting if wynne went down.
I actually saw him this summer in Harrisburg, PA in an Open Cup game. His movement and dominating performance (2 goals, 1 assist) in the first half of extra time was more than I saw from Kirovski in all of 2006 and 07. Jovan never recorded 3 points in 15 minutes with the Rapids, no need to look that up. The City Islanders scored 3 in the second half of ET (?!?!) to force PKs, and won when Benny choked on the 5th and final shot. Kirovski never missed as a Rapid, never. But, yeah, as an overpaid, underperforming midfielder with a Euro pedigree, I see the similarities.