Mock MLS Expansion Draft: Which players should Atlanta, Minnesota pick?

With 259 names available for selection, including some big-money DPs, MLS-tested veterans and young players alike, here's who we see Minnesota and Atlanta picking in the expansion draft.

Author:
Avi Creditor and Alexander Abnos
Publish date:
Dec 12, 2016

With two more teams joining MLS in 2017 comes yet another expansion draft.

The mechanism has been hit-or-miss (OK, mostly miss) for past teams, who have plenty of other ways and methods to go about building their rosters. In this year's edition, the draft has been chopped in half, with both Atlanta United and Minnesota United only selecting five players. Furthermore, once an existing team has had a player selected, the rest of its unprotected players become off limits, so a total of 10 teams will lose one player apiece.

The goal for teams in these drafts, generally, is to fill needs and acquire depth, doing so at points of value. You rarely see a big-money Designated Player swap teams in these drafts, just because teams who are putting millions in investment into their marquee players typically like to do so on their terms and with their scouting and background work.

Time ticking on Beckham's Miami MLS team amid deadline, Las Vegas speculation

Atlanta, for instance, has already acquired Miguel Almiron and Hector Villalba as Young DPs, and the word from SI's Grant Wahl is that Mexican star Andres Guardado could be on the way from PSV Eindhoven later this winter as well.

Minnesota is considerably behind Atlanta in the roster-building process–the club has just three players signed, and they're all defenders–so it might be looking for more impactful players.

In the priority draft between the two sides, Atlanta earned the right to pick first in the expansion draft (Yes, that's right, a draft to decide different drafts. Never change, MLS), and it will do so Tuesday afternoon. But before the two Uniteds make their picks, we figured we'd make some of our own.

With Avi Creditor picking for Atlanta United and Alexander Abnos picking for Minnesota United, here's how our mock MLS expansion draft unfolds for the league's newcomers (for reference, MLS released its full lists of protected and unprotected players, which can be seen here):

ROUND 1

Atlanta - Chris Duvall, D, New York Red Bulls (Red Bulls exempt from the remainder of the draft)

AC: An Atlanta-area native, Duvall comes at a price tag that's appealing to anyone (he made $63,000 in 2016 according to MLS Players Union documents), fills a need area at right back and could slide into the lineup immediately.

Minnesota - Chris Seitz, GK, FC Dallas (FC Dallas exempt from the remainder of the draft)

AA: Was one of the most consistent goalkeepers in MLS last season, posting a career high in games (28) and earning 10 shutouts, second-most in the league behind the Red Bulls’ Luis Robles–despite playing six fewer games. Seitz has been around the league a while and is well-respected everywhere he’s been, even if it hasn’t been as a starter.

Stefan Frei's transcendent save sparks Seattle Sounders to first MLS Cup

ROUND 2

Atlanta - Harry Shipp, M, Montreal Impact(Impact exempt from the remainder of the draft)

Shipp was a rising star in Chicago, quickly fell out of favor for new manager Veljko Paunovic and had modest returns (two goals, three assists) in Montreal last season. No matter, the 25-year-old is a capable midfielder who can add to Tata Martino's attack while not causing the club to break the bank ($129,500 in 2016).

Minnesota - Mohammed Saied, M, Columbus Crew SC(Crew SC exempt from the remainder of the draft)

A solid two-way midfielder who wasn’t as instrumental to the Crew as he might have been without both Wil Trapp and Tony Tchani on the roster. Saeid’s versatility and quality will be useful for Minnesota in an important position. He’ll be 26 when the 2017 season starts and made a reasonable but not lavish $120,000 in guaranteed compensation last season. He'd take up an international roster spot, but he'd be worth it.

ROUND 3

Atlanta - Mark Bloom, D, Toronto FC(TFC exempt from the remainder of the draft)

Another local-area product! Bloom hails from Marietta, played for the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks and provides depth in defense at a reasonable cost ($101,848 in 2016). In building an identity and culture, it behooves a club to have players with whom fans can identify, and Duvall and Bloom go a long way in complementing the star power Atlanta is already attracting.

Minnesota - Baggio Husidic, M, LA Galaxy(Galaxy exempt from the remainder of the draft)

A key contributor to the Galaxy for the last three years, Husidic is like Saeid in that he is a steady central midfielder, but has a little more attacking panache than his supposed new teammate up north. Husidic has experience abroad and in MLS, and he has an MLS Cup to his name.

GALLERY: Future, potential soccer stadiums in America

Potential, future soccer stadiums in America

North Carolina FC

The Raleigh bid for an MLS expansion team unveiled a stadium plan for a downtown venue within the boundaries of Peace St., Salisbury St., Lane St. and the N.C. Railroad easement.

Miami

David Beckham's ownership group in Miami has released a rendering for a stadium in the Overtown neighborhood, the latest desired site for an MLS expansion bid that kicked off in 2014.

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati doesn't yet have a nailed-down location for an MLS stadium, but the expansion hopeful has released renderings for a 25,000-seat stadium inspired by Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati doesn't yet have a nailed-down location for an MLS stadium, but the expansion hopeful has released renderings for a 25,000-seat stadium inspired by Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati doesn't yet have a nailed-down location for an MLS stadium, but the expansion hopeful has released renderings for a 25,000-seat stadium inspired by Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati doesn't yet have a nailed-down location for an MLS stadium, but the expansion hopeful has released renderings for a 25,000-seat stadium inspired by Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena.

Portland Timbers

The Timbers are adding 4,000 seats as part of a $50 million renovation to Providence Park.

Portland Timbers

The Timbers are adding 4,000 seats as part of a $50 million renovation to Providence Park.

Atlanta United FC

Atlanta United will share Mercedes-Benz Stadium along with the Atlanta Falcons in a state-of-the-art venue.