There’s no way of knowing how accurate the lists they were choosing from were or handicapping just how close our bloggers came to getting inside their teams’ heads, but what they came up with in general terms is probably a fair picture.
MLS Mock Expansion Draft: Mixing Old And Young And Ignoring The Rapids
Based on last year’s salaries, both teams would be on the hook for about $1 million in guaranteed compensation. Considering the salary budget is supposed to be $2.67 million next year, the fact that each team spent about 37 percent of their funds on about a third of their roster should come as little surprise.
Among the higher-priced veterans to be taken were Chicago's Collins John ($181,875), Houston's Pat Onstad (172,333.33), Philadelphia's Alejandro Moreno ($158,125), Kansas City's Jack Jewsbury ($154,125) and Columbus' Frankie Hejduk ($127,500). All of them would serve as useful foundational pieces for one reason or another.
The biggest surprise may have been that no one took Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Crew's former MVP is going to be left unprotected and it was interesting that neither of our bloggers chose him. Benjamin Massey had said he planned to take him, but that Geoff Gibson's selection of Hejduk spoiled those plans.
Gibson took a balanced approach to selecting his team, taking four defenders, two forwards and three midfielders to go along with the already announced signings of forwards Eddie Johnson and Bright Dike, midfielder Ryan Pore and goalkeeper Steve Cronin.
Massey, too, was relatively balanced but leaned a little more heavily on offensive players as the Whitecaps have so far focused on bringing in defenders. He took three forwards, three midfielders, three defenders and a goalkeeper. That group goes along with already signed Alain Rochat (DF), Jay DeMerit (DF) and Davide Chiumiento (MF).
86 Forever's picks: Collins John, Chukwudi Chijindu, Maykel Galindo, Pat Onstad, Khano Smith, Andrew Boyens, Jeremy Hall, Cristian Arrieta, Amadou Sanyang, Brad Evans.
Chopping Timbers picks: Eric Brunner, Frankie Hejduk, Kyle Davies, Ryan Cochrane, Jack Jewsbury, Dema Kovalenko, Alejandro Moreno, Alex Nimo, Sanna Nyassi, Scott Sealy
See More:
