CLARKWATCH: Follow news and updates regarding sanctions on Mayor Clark.

Major League Soccer releases expansion draft player list for Los Angeles FC

Dec 10, 2017 | 4:15 PM

TORONTO — Steven Beitashour, Drew Moor, Armando Cooper and Benoit Cheyrou, who all saw action for Toronto FC in Saturday’s MLS Cup final win over Seattle, have been left unprotected in the MLS expansion draft.

Beitashour and Moor, along with fellow unprotected TFC defender Jason Hernandez are all free agents.

The draft goes Tuesday with the Los Angeles Football Club able to add up to five players to their roster in preparation for their inaugural 2018 season. LAFC can only take one player from a club. Some 309 players are available.

Other Toronto players available are Oyvind Alseth, Brandon Aubrey, Raheem Edwards, Tsubasa Endoh, Nicholas Hasler, Clint Irwin, Mark Pais and Tosaint Ricketts.

Ricketts and Edwards are both Canadian internationals. Aibrey and Endoh are former first-round picks in the MLS SuperDraft.

The Toronto unprotected list includes both right backs in Beitashour and Hasler as well as the club’s No. 2 and 3 goalkeepers in Irwin and Pais.

While no trades are permitted during the draft, clubs can barter before and after. Irwin, for example, was taken by Altanta United in the 2016 expansion draft but was traded back hours later in exchange for defender Mark Bloom.

Other players available include Ghana international defender Jonathan Mensah (Columbus), U.S., international defender DaMarcus Beasley (Houston), midfielder Jermaine Jones, Trinidad & Tobago fullback Joevin Jones (Seattle), Dutch forward Michael de Leeuw (Chicago), Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Matias Laba and Montreal Impact forwards Matteo Mancosu and Dominic Oduro.

De Leeuw and Laba are both coming off knee surgery. 

The existing 22 MLS clubs were allowed to protect 11 players, with limits on the number of international players left unprotected.

Generation Adidas players and some homegrown players, depending on what part of the roster they occupy, are automatically protected.

If a free agent is taken in the expansion draft, LAFC takes over his previous club’s ability to renegotiate a new contract consistent with the CBA before the beginning of Stage 2 of the re-entry draft. If a free agent selected subsequently signs with his 2017 club, he will be subject to compensation.

Other Impact players left unprotected are Hernan Bernardello, Patrice Bernier (who has announced his retirement), Dein Boldor, Hassoun Camara, Nick DePuy, Shaun Francis, Eric Kronberg, Wandrille Lefevre, Andrew Romero and Nichael Salazar.

Francis and Kronberg are free agents.

Other Whitecaps players left unprotected are Christian Bolanos, Marcel De Jong, David Edgar, Deybi Flores, Kyle Greig, Jordan Harvey, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Nosa Igiebor, Andrew Jacobson, Brett Levis, Aaron Maund, David Ousted, Spencer Richey, Mauro Rosales, Cole Seiler, Brek Shea, Cristian Techera ad Sheanon Williams.

Harvey and Jacobson are free agents.

 

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press