MLS Mock Expansion Draft, 2011: SB Nation Soccer Has You Covered

It seems like most of the decisions Real Salt Lake have to make about who to protect in the upcoming expansion draft are fairly easy ones, but the mysteries of allocation money and a salary cap that often makes it hard to reward players for doing well, there are plenty of factors that go into making a list. One of the unique things about Salt Lake is that as a small market team there seems to be a more personal connection between the fans and the players, so leaving anyone unprotected is likely to raise the ire of more than just a few people. I think it took me about 5 minutes to make up this list, it wasn’t about looking at who we can’t lose, but rather if we lose them would the team be able to continue as a top team in MLS.

Projected RSL protected list: Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Will Johnson, Tony Beltran, Chris Schuler, Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio, Paulo Jr. Automatically protected: Luis Gil, Donny Toia, Nico Muniz.

Daniel Robertson is the managing editor for FC Dallas blog Big D Soccer. Follow him on Twitter at @BigDSoccer. Be sure to check out SB Nation Soccer’s Live Mock Expansion Draft on Thursday at 7 p.m.