Dec 10 2025 MLS Expansion Draft - Predraft Thoughts | OneFootball

On the evening of December 11th, San Diego FC take another step closer to their inaugural season in MLS. The MLS Expansion Draft happens once again and with that news, that means today (December 10th) MLS fans received news on which players from their favorite club are not protected from this upcoming draft. You can find the full list of non-protected players here for review.

Let’s take a quick look into the history of the MLS Expansion Draft since the 2020 season. In 2022, St. Louis City drafted; Nicholas Gioacchini, Indiana Vassilev, Jon Bell, John Nelson, and Jake LaCava. St. Louis would trade away LaCava to Inter Miami for $150,000 in GAM. In 2021, Charlotte FC drafted; McKinze Gaines, Anton Walkes, Joseph Mora, Tristan Blackmon, and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. Charlotte would trade away Blackmon to Vancouver for $475,000 in GAM as well as Tajouri-Shradi to LAFC for $400,000 in GAM. And finally, in 2020, Austin FC selected; Danny Hoesen, Jared Stroud, Brady Scott, Joe Corona, and Kamal Miller. Austin would trade away Corona to Houston for a Re-Entry Draft selection as well as Miller to the Montreal Impact for $225,000 in GAM and a MLS SuperDraft selection. There is a very good chance that we see 1 or 2 players selected in this Expansion Draft traded away for GAM or International Roster spots. These are assets from other MLS clubs to help build their roster how they’d like heading into year 1 rather than being forced to play players they may not prefer.

So let’s take a look at the players that have been kept on rosters from the Expansion Draft. A majority of these players are younger talents, a majority are domestic talents, and they all are on good contract deals. But there is always a chance for San Diego FC to break the mold and pattern. Here are some options that I feel like San Diego could go with for quite a few different reasons:Higher Salaried Players Worth The Pricetag:

If you’ve paid any attention to MLS in the last few seasons, these names should be familiar to you. The reason why a lot of these guys are left available is because most seem like they are in need of a change of scenery. The biggest name on the list above has to be Inter Miami star Julian Gressel. The 30 year old MLS veteran is absolutely one of the most talent, versatile, and best passers of the ball we’ve seen in MLS history. Last season he fell out of favor at Miami, not even featuring in their last few games in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Now with him being left unprotected in this draft, I think San Diego has to take a look at him even on his roughly $1.1M salary. The other name that I think is the most appealing in this group is the Timber’s Eryk Williamson who clearly has had some behind the scenes issues in Portland the last few seasons. The only thing that I think holds back Williamson getting drafted is his injury history, but on a $675k salary… he’s worth the risk to me.

Now I HIGHLY doubt that San Diego drafted someone that will take up one of the prime 6 roster spots on a MLS roster. We haven’t seen this happen almost ever in these Expansion Drafts. But, there is always the chance that a player available catches the eyes of Tyler Heaps and Mikey Varas. Toklomati & Mijatovic are the only names that really make sense to me here. I doubt the selection of Mijatovic in this draft, if either of these guys I feel like Toklomati is the pick for San Diego. These are expensive moves to pull off so this team really has to love a player of this profile.

San Diego FC and the Right to Dream Academy are going to be a club that I think values internationals (and in turn) international roster spots on their roster. Most likely, they will want to fill their international roster spots with the players from their network, so once again, this is a grouping of players I doubt we see get the selection unless they are getting traded to another MLS club. However, if I was running a MLS club, I’d be taking a look at Deybi Flores for Toronto FC. He was easily the most consistent piece of a bad Toronto side in 2024. The 28 year old Honduran international could be a quiet sneaky selection for San Diego in year one. He is also only on roughly $460,000 in salary which seems like a steal to me. The other name here to check out is Iuri Tavares from Charlotte FC. The 23 year old is sitting behind guys like Kerwin Vargas and Liel Abada as well as competing for minutes with Idan Toklomati, Nimfasha Berchimas, Tyger Smalls, and Brandon Cambridge… a move could be nice. Tavares is a Cape Verde international and could benefit from a move where he could get regular minutes.

Now this is where I think the meat and potatoes of the MLS Expansion Draft falls under. Proven MLS talents that are known commodities and that are on lower salaries. There are four names that I’d take if I Heaps/Varas; Panicco, Brody, Bell, and Raposo. Elliott Panicco is a 28 year old goalkeeper who I think deserves a shot at a starting role. Panicco is also only on a contract roughly on $115k which makes him such a value for a new spot. Andrew Brody is an experienced MLS fullback who I think is a starter on most MLS rosters. The 29 year old American is on a $300k salary and can play both leftback and rightback well. The next potential option is Jon Bell who at 27 years old has played well at all of his stops in MLS; New England, St. Louis, and Seattle. Bell is only on a roughly $100k salary which is the cheapest of this list. Lastly, I really like the idea of Ryan Raposo moving to San Diego. The 25 year old Raposo is on a $155k salary who has played such a strong role under Vanni Sartini in recent seasons. Raposo could be a nice dual central midfielder for San Diego in year one and moving forward.

GIVE ME BRET HALSEY! I loved what Halsey did last season for FC Cincinnati as he played such a key role during their early season success. I am not too sure there is a cleancut path for Halsey to get a ton of minutes with Cincinnati in 2025. I think he could be a nice piece to get minutes in San Diego next year. Outside of Halsey, I think a guy like George Marks could be an interesting addition for San Diego. Marks has some opportunity to get starts at keeper for Charlotte in the past, but with the breakout of Kahlina, he’s fallen down the depth chart. Whether Marks is the backup or starter, on a $90,000 salary he feels like a steal even with his limited minutes in MLS.