After FC Cincinnati selected Darren Mattocks, Kei Kamara (and then traded him to Colorado for an international slot), Roland Lamah, Eric Alexander, and Hassan Ndam in the 2018 Expansion Draft, Philadelphia Union move into the next phase of the offseason without any changes to their roster. Cincinnati looked for a striker, a central defender, and veteran midfielders as they continue to build a squad for their season one in Major League Soccer.
The Union were only allowed to protect eleven players during the expansion draft, which meant the following players were left unprotected:
- Warren Creavalle
- Haris Medunjanin
- Borek Dockal
- Marcus Epps
- Fabinho
- Richie Marquez
- John McCarthy
- Jake McGuire
- Kacper Przybylko
- Jay Simpson
- Josh Yaro
Of these players, Haris Medunjanin is the only one currently under contract for 2019. If FC Cincinnati would have selected any of the other available Union players, they would have needed to begin a negotiation process to sign that player for the upcoming season. Since no players were selected by FCC, they all remain on the Union's roster until the end of the second stage of the Re-Entry Draft on December 20 (unless, of course, they are both eligible and selected by another team in the Re-Entry Draft). A list of players available in each of the Re-Entry Draft's two stages is released by MLS the day before each stage. Following the completion of the Re-Entry Draft, any players that have not signed new contracts with the Union will be released and are free to sign with another team. Borek Dockal remains under contract with Henan Jianye in China.
Just because the expansion draft is complete does not mean the MLS offseason will hit a lull. Next, teams will prepare for the Waiver Draft before the pair of Re-Entry Drafts leads into a period in which out of contract players have more freedom of movement between clubs.
Keep up to date with all of Major League Soccer's roster building mechanisms on PhiladelphiaUnion.com, where we have a breakdown of each upcoming draft leading up to the start of the 2019 season.
