FC Dallas Announces 11 Protected Players Ahead of Tomorrow's MLS Expansion Draft

Published on December 10, 2018 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release

Frisco, Texas - Major League Soccer announced today the list of players available for selection in the 2018 Expansion Draft. The Expansion Draft will provide an opportunity for expansion club FC Cincinnati to select up to five players from the eligible list, starting tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT. The list includes 255 available players.

FC Dallas Expansion Draft List Protected (11): Pablo Aránguiz, Dominique Badji, Michael Barrios, Jesse Gonzalez, Carlos Gruezo, Matt Hedges, Jimmy Maurer, Santiago Mosquera, Victor Ulloa, Jacori Hayes and Ryan Hollingshead.

Automatically Protected Players (9): Francis Atuahene, Reggie Cannon, Jesus Ferreira, Paxton Pomykal, Bryan Reynolds, Chris Richards, Thomas Roberts, Brandon Servania and Ema Twumasi.

Available for selection (10): Abel Aguilar, Anî - bal Chalá, Cristian Colmán, Maynor Figueroa, Moises Hernandez, Roland Lamah, Marquinhos Pedroso, Adonijah Reid, Reto Ziegler and Kyle Zobeck.

Each current MLS club had the opportunity to protect 11 players from their 2018 roster. Generation adidas players (who did not graduate at the end of the 2018 season) and Homegrown Players on a club's off-budget roster are automatically protected and do not count against a team's 11 protected roster spots.

Designated Players are not automatically protected. If a Designated Player has a no trade clause in his contract, then the club must protect him in the Expansion Draft.

Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City, the San Jose Earthquakes, Columbus Crew SC and Toronto FC are exempt from the 2018 Expansion Draft because they had players selected by the Los Angeles Football Club during the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft. FC Cincinnati will receive an additional sum of allocation money as compensation for five exempt teams in the MLS Expansion Draft.

For a club that has a player claimed from their unprotected roster, that team will receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money for the selection.

About FC Dallas A member of Major League Soccer since its inception in 1996, FC Dallas is owned and operated by Hunt Sports Group. The professional team plays its regular season from March to October at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. FC Dallas won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and MLS Supporters' Shield in 2016.

Toyota Stadium is one of the first soccer-specific stadiums built in the United States and is also home to the National Soccer Hall of Fame (http://www.soccerhof.com/) which opened on November 2, 2018. It hosts MLS and international soccer matches, high school and college football games, as well as concerts and other events.

The 145-acre Toyota Soccer Center also includes 17 regulation-sized, tournament-grade soccer fields and is also home to the organization's nationally-renowned youth development system.

Major League Soccer Stories from December 10, 2018

• Timbers Sign Midfielders Marvin Loria, Renzo Zambrano - Portland Timbers
• FC Cincinnati Signs Jimmy McLaughlin - FC Cincinnati
• Toronto FC Move up in Allocation Ranking - Toronto FC
• Earthquakes Acquire Allocation Money in Trade with Toronto FC - San Jose Earthquakes
• Orlando City Announces Protected List for 2018 Expansion Draft - Orlando City SC
• Chicago Fire Announces Protected Players in Advance of 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - Chicago Fire FC
• LAFC Announces List of Protected Players for 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - Los Angeles FC
• FC Cincinnati Signs Justin Hoyte - FC Cincinnati
• New York Red Bulls Announce Protected Player List - New York Red Bulls
• New England Revolution Protect Players Ahead of 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - New England Revolution
• Protected Players by Impact Listed Ahead of MLS Expansion Draft - Club de Foot Montreal
• Whitecaps FC Reveal Protected Player List for Tuesday's MLS Expansion Draft - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
• MLS and D.C. United Announce Available Players for Selection in 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - D.C. United
• Timbers Announce Roster Status Ahead of 2019 Season - Portland Timbers
• MLS Announces Available Players for Selection in 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - MLS
• New York City FC Submit Protected List for MLS Expansion Draft - New York City FC
• Dynamo Protect 11 Players Ahead of MLS Expansion Draft - Houston Dynamo FC
• Philadelphia Union Announce Protected List for 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - Philadelphia Union
• FC Dallas Announces 11 Protected Players Ahead of Tomorrow's MLS Expansion Draft - FC Dallas
• Real Salt Lake Announces 16 Protected Players in 2018 MLS Expansion Draft - Real Salt Lake
• MNUFC 2018 Expansion Draft Protected Player List Announced - Minnesota United FC
• Sounders FC Receives $50,000 in General Allocation Money from Vancouver for Rights to Andy Rose - Seattle Sounders FC
• Whitecaps FC Acquire Midfielder Andy Rose - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
• FC Cincinnati Signs Emery Welshman - FC Cincinnati
• Timbers Sign Defender Zarek Valentin to New Contract - Portland Timbers
• FC Cincinnati Signs Nazmi Albadawi - FC Cincinnati
• FC Cincinnati Signs Blake Smith - FC Cincinnati

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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