NEW YORK, NY – Major League Soccer announced on Friday morning the players eligible for the 2016 Re-Entry Process, including former Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Pedro Morales and striker Blas Pérez.
A total of 41 players are eligible to participate in the 2016 Re-Entry Draft with Stage One to be conducted today at 12 p.m. PT.
Players who are out-of-contract or had their options declined and are at least 23 with a minimum of three years of MLS experience or are at least 25 with a minimum of four years of league experience are eligible for Re-Entry. Players eligible for free agency are not included in the Re-Entry process.
Any player selected in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft on Friday will automatically have their contract option for 2017 exercised. If a selected player is out-of-contract, they’ll receive a bona fide offer from the team that selected them.
- READ: Whitecaps FC part ways with captain Pedro Morales
- READ: An open letter from Pedro Morales
- READ: Whitecaps FC announce roster moves
Stage 2 of the Re-Entry Draft will be held next Friday. Any player unselected in Stage 1 of Re-Entry will be eligible for Stage 2. If selected in Stage 2, a player will negotiate a new contract with their new club.
Players are allowed to opt out of the Re-Entry process up until the start of each draft. Players that have already opted out of Stage 1 include Robbie Keane, Aurelien Collin, Erik Friberg, Zach Loyd, Patrice Bernier and Ashtone Morgan.
The Re-Entry Draft order is determined by the reverse order of the final standings in the 2016 season, taking into account postseason performance. Chicago holds the first pick, Vancouver holds the fifth pick, while the two expansion clubs, Atlanta and Minnesota, will pick 21st and 22nd, respectively.
The current list of players who will participate in Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft is below:
GK Steve Clark (Columbus Crew SC)
GK Andrew Dykstra (D.C. United)
GK Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City)
GK Chris Konopka (Portland Timbers)
GK Patrick McClain (Chicago Fire)
GK Bryan Meredith (San Jose Earthquakes)
DF Chad Barson (Columbus Crew SC)
DF Eric Gehrig (Chicago Fire)
DF Chris Korb (D.C. United)
DF Chris Klute (Portland Timbers)
DF Leonardo (LA Galaxy)
DF Damion Lowe (Seattle Sounders)
DF Abdoulie Mansally (Houston Dynamo)
DF Jimmy Ockford (Seattle Sounders)
DF Karl Ouimette (New York Red Bulls)
DF Norberto Paparatto (FC Dallas)
DF Dylan Remick (Seattle Sounders)
DF Jordan Stewart (San Jose Earthquakes)
DF Jermaine Taylor (Portland Timbers)
DF Josh Williams (Toronto FC)
MF Kyle Bekker (Montreal Impact)
MF Razvan Cocis (Chicago Fire)
MF Michael Farfan (Seattle Sounders)
MF Leo Fernandes (Philadelphia Union)
MF Daniel Lovitz (Toronto FC)
MF Daigo Kobayashi (New England Revolution)
MF Cristian Maidana (Houston Dynamo)
MF Pedro Morales (Vancouver Whitecaps FC – DP)
MF Steve Neumann (New England Revolution)
MF Sanna Nyassi (San Jose Earthquakes)
MF Pedro Ribeiro (Orlando City SC)
MF Mauro Rosales (FC Dallas)
MF Michael Stephens (Chicago Fire)
MF John Stertzer (Real Salt Lake)
MF Tony Taylor (New York City FC)
FW Conor Doyle (Colorado Rapids)
FW Olmes Garcia (Real Salt Lake)
FW Blas Perez (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
FW Alvaro Saborio (D.C. United)
FW Devon Sandoval (Real Salt Lake)
FW Mark Sherrod (San Jose Earthquakes)
