End Of Season Roster Review

Usually here at the end of the season I go through the roster with my opinions of who are core players are, who we should keep until an upgrade can be found, and who we should cut bait on.  Sadly this year there isn't much on the roster that is worth keeping if there's a better option.  On top of that we've got an expansion draft coming next month as Orlando City and NYCFC enter the league.

So this year I'm going to break down who we should protect in the expansion draft and why.  Honestly, beyond this group of players, there's really not much left that needs to be kept.  Anyone who doesn't make the protected list should be upgraded immediately, if not flat out cut.

For my list I'm using the same rules MLS has used for expansion drafts the last couple of cycles.  Each team gets to protect 11 players, homegrown and Generation Adidas players are protected automatically and don't count towards the total of 11, and each team must protect at least 3 internationals unless they have less than 3, then they must protect all but 1.

Auto-protected:
Davy Armstrong (homegrown)
Marlon Hairston (Generation Adidas)
Shane O'Neill (homegrown)
Dillon Serna (homegrown)
* - Deshorn Brown was a GA player as well but he has almost certainly played enough to lose that designation after this season.

Internationals:
Deshorn Brown - Back-to-back team Golden Boot.  Obvious choice
Jose Mari - Good calming presence in the midfield and somebody to distribute
Gabriel Torres - He's a key part of next season, either getting on the same page as the team or what we'll get when we sell/trade him.

Final 8:
Charles Eloundou - Young kid with some exciting flashes
Clint Irwin - Our best GK and one of our better players
Chris Klute - Off year this year but we can hope for a bounce-back
Drew Moor - Veteran leadership and a solid CB
John Neeskens - Young player with potential
Dillon Powers - Defending RotY and a core member of the midfield
Vicente Sanchez - Veteran leadership and creativity
Wild Card - Whichever young player stands out the most to the coaching staff

That's it.  Everyone else is either not good enough, too expensive, or both.  Here are my clear cuts:

Edson Buddle - Way too expensive for return
Zat Knight - Sorry but he didn't impress in 4 games.  Moor does everything he does better.
Danny Mwanga - See Edson Buddle