• Best deals of the MLS Expansion Draft

  • By Leander Schaerlaeckens | November 24, 2010 7:44:08 AM PST

The dust hasn't quite settled in the 2010 Major League Soccer season. Nevertheless, it's already time to start thinking about next season, with the most expansive expansion draft in years taking place Wednesday. Not since 2005 (Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake) did two expansion teams join in the same year. So with both eligible to pick up 10 players, free of charge, from their new rivals, we should see considerable turnover.

The 16 existing teams published their respective lists of the 11 players they each chose to protect from the draft (nobody can lose more than two players), and quite a few surprising names were left off. Keeping in mind that homegrown players such as Andy Najar and Juan Agudelo aren't eligible to be drafted, that Generation Adidas players aren't either, and that all DPs with a no-trade clause had to be included, here are the best deals on unprotected players, ranked by position:

Goalkeepers:

2010 salary (renegotiable by new team):

1. Troy Perkins, D.C. United, $205,000

2. Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus Crew, $40,000

3. Dario Sala, FC Dallas, $178,125

4. Milos Kocic, Toronto FC, $40,000

5. Andrew Dykstra, Chicago Fire, $40,000

Defenders:

1. Patrick Ianni, Seattle Sounders, $75,600

2. Leonardo Gonzalez, Seattle Sounders, $72,000

3. Robbie Russell, Real Salt Lake, $119,751

4. Anthony Wallace, Colorado Rapids, $57,500

5. Jordan Graye, D.C. United, $40,000

Midfielders:

1. Dax McCarty, FC Dallas, $165,000

2. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew, $241,500

3. Nathan Sturgis, Seattle Sounders, $69,250

4. Wells Thompson, Colorado Rapids, $48,125

5. Atiba Harris, FC Dallas, $71,970

Attackers:

1. Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls, $1,918,000

2. Fuad Ibrahim, Toronto FC, $133,000

3. Robbie Findley, Real Salt Lake, $78,316

4. Jeff Cunningham, FC Dallas, $230,125

5. Mike Magee, Los Angeles Galaxy, $96,000


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