Let the silly season begin

The MLS season is now done, which means the expansion draft lists will be released Monday. Here’s my take on who should be protected for San Jose

But first, let’s recap the pertinent rules as they relate to the Quakes.

Senior Roster

• Teams may protect 11 players between their Senior and their Developmental Roster.
• If the Player’s contract expires at the end of 2009, he will still be considered part of the Team’s Senior Roster.
• If a player retires, he will not be a part of the Senior Roster, but his Team will lose its right of first refusal to him should he ultimately decide to play.

Developmental Roster

• Players on a Team’s Developmental Roster, other than Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the 2009 season and Home Grown Players, will be part of the expansion draft.

International Players

• Teams may make available a number of international players equal to their total number of international players minus 3, provided that if a team has 3 or less international players it may make available not more than 1.

Maximum Player Loss

• Once a player has been claimed from a Team’s non-protected roster, that team is eliminated from the expansion draft and may not lose any further players.

Rounds

• The expansion draft will be 10 rounds.

The Quakes have five senior international players: Simon Elliott, Cornell Glen, Andre Luiz, Ramon Sanchez, and Antonio Ribeiro. Per the rules, they can, at most, make two available. I’m guessing the Quakes will protect Glen, Andre Luiz, and Sanchez

That leaves eight spots.

Locks to be protected:

Joe Cannon - Can still do the business, and has value around the league.

Chris Leitch - You don’t leave your Defensive MVP exposed.

Brandon McDonald - Up and coming center back. Absolutely has to be protected.

Jason Hernandez - Was injury prone over the last year, but would surely be an asset in Philly.

Ryan Johnson - Team MVP. ‘Nuff said.

That leaves three spots left. So here are the question marks.

Bobby Convey - Lousy year, big cap number, and a horrible relationship with Philly head coach Peter Nowak would lean towards leaving him unprotected. But the Union could pull a Toronto here. For the uninitiated, when Toronto went through the process, Real Salt Lake gambled by leaving Jason Kreis exposed since Kreis was older and would only play in Salt Lake. Toronto called RSL’s bluff and selected Kreis, getting some draft picks in return.

I wouldn’t put it past Nowak to select Convey and then hold him ransom in exchange for draft picks or simply deal him elsewhere. It all depends on how lucky the Quakes feel.

Ramiro Corrales - Public Enemy No. 1 amongst some Quakes fans, but Corrales is a guy who is left-footed and can play three positions. He’s also the team captain who has just signed a new contract.

Shea Salinas - Young up-and-coming winger who plays both sides of the ball and comes cheap. He is also flying largely under the radar, since he hasn’t been a consistent starter in MLS.

Arturo Alvarez - Inconsistent attacker, but has game-breaking ability. Is he a forward or a midfielder? I’m not sure even Frank Yallop goes.

So what will the Quakes do? My guess is that they’ll protect Alvarez, Convey, and Corrales and leave Salinas exposed. So will Salinas be chosen? He could, but much will depend on who else is available. I’m hearing that Columbus winger Robbie Rogers, who played for Nowak on the 2008 Olympic team, will be left unprotected.