2010 MLS Expansion Draft: With Drafting Done, Seattle Sounders Pick Up O'Brian White

O'Brian White is now on his third team of the day. When he woke up this morning (I presume, anyway) he was with Toronto FC. Then Vancouver Whitecaps picked him up in the MLS Expansion Draft. Now, Seattle Sounders have traded allocation money for him. Will Seattle be White's final resting place today, or will he fall asleep signed by another club?

Sounders coach Sigi Schmid seems to believe that White will be sticking around:

"O'Brian is a forward with good pace and size. He adds another option for us in our desire to be a club that scores goals."

Forgive me for thinking that sounds a lot like Blaise Nkufo. Or even Nate Jaqua. What are we missing, Seattle? Of course, it could just be that the Sounders are trying to add depth to a squad that wants to advance from the CONCACAF group stages, win the Open Cup for the third year running, and secure an MLS title.

In more trading news, Sanna Nyassi has also had the joy of belonging to three clubs today, starting the morning with Seattle, becoming a Whitecap before noon, and then being sent off to Colorado Whitecaps in return for an International Roster spot. Portland Timbers again sent eyebrows skyward by trading midfielder Dax McCarty and allocation money to D.C. United for Rodney Wallace and a fourth-round draft pick. Well done United--how'd you swing that one? And can Seattle have some tips?

2010 MLS Expansion Draft: Vancouver Take Nyassi And Sturgis, Portland Make Questionable Choices

The 2010 MLS Expansion Draft has ended, with a few curious choices by the two newest Major League Soccer clubs. Toward the end, it appeared as though Portland lost the plot, picking up players the way managers do at the end of a fantasy baseball draft: "Oh, that guy? I heard about him once, years ago." Vancouver, meanwhile, stole two Seattle Sounders players, picking up Sanna Nyassi and Nathan Sturgis.  The entire list is below:

Portland Timbers

Dax McCarty (Midfielder, FC Dallas)

Adam Moffat (Midfielder, Columbus Crew)  

Eric Brunner (Defender, Columbus Crew)  

Anthony Wallace (Defender, Colorado Rapids)  

David Horst (Defender, Real Salt Lake)  

Robbie Findley (Forward, RSL/U.S. Men's National Team)

Peter Lowry (Midfielder, Chicago Fire)  

Jonathan Bornstein (Defender, Chivas USA/Tigres)

Jordan Graye (Defender, D.C. United)   

Arturo Alvarez (Midfielder, San Jose Earthquakes)

Vancouver

Sanna Nyassi (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC)

Atiba Harris (Midfielder, FC Dallas)

Nathan Sturgis (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC)

Shea Salinas (Midfielder, Philadelphia Union)

Alan Gordon (Forward, Chivas USA)

O'Brian White (Forward, Toronto FC)

Alejandro Moreno (Forward, Philadelphia Union)

Joe Cannon (Goalkeeper, San Jose Eathquakes)

Jonathan Leathers (Defender, Sporting Kansas City)  

John Thorrington (Midfielder, Chicago Fire)  

2010 MLS Expansion Draft: Vancouver Whitecaps Pick Nathan Sturgis, Seattle Sounders Now Out Of Draft

With their third pick, the Vancouver Whitecaps took Seattle Sounders midfielder Nathan Sturgis, meaning that Seattle is now out of the expansion draft. The Sounders emerged with the likes of Blaise Nkufo, Leo Gonzalez, and Patrick Ianni left untouched. It's quite possible that either Vancouver was not watching Seattle this year, or they believed that luck was a valuable asset to their fledgling MLS side. ne of the commentators on the draft spoke on Vancouver's choice of Nathan Sturgis:

Let's remember when we're judging Nathan Sturgis, he was in that midfield with Osvaldo Alonso, who can make anyone look good.

While Sturgis did have a steady year for the Sounders, his weaknesses were exposed when Alonso was out injured. Alonso is one of the best players in MLS, and picked up much of the slack for Sturgis. Sturgis is weak both in passing and on set pieces, so seeing him go to a Sounders rival is really of little consequence. In addition, one of the reasons Sturgis was in the starting XI this season was due to Brad Evans' injury, so with Evans healthy again, Seattle is losing no real cover at the position--plus, the Sounders have Mike Seamon for cover, and Alvaro Fernandez can play in the center as well.

Of course, with Sanna Nyassi also off to Vancouver, Fernandez is almost certain to start on the right wing. In terms of both depth and skill, there's almost no way this draft could have gone better for Seattle.

2010 MLS Expansion Draft: Portland Timbers Take Dax McCarty, Vancouver Whitecaps Pick Up Sanna Nyassi

The 2010 MLS Expansion Draft started at 11 AM PST. Should you want to follow along, you can listen to audio at Major League Soccer's official site. Portland Timbers choose first, with picks available from each of the 16 current MLS clubs.

Here we go...Dax McCarty has been chosen by the Portland Timbers. FC Dallas left the midfielder unprotected for some unknown reason, considering he's been a quality player for the club this season. Each club that loses a player gets to add another to their protected list. Dallas has re-claimed Daniel Hernandez, to the surprise of the commentators who believe Dallas should be protecting Atiba Harris. Instead, he went to Vancouver for their second pick, meaning no more Dallas players can be chosen.

Vancouver have taken Sanna Nyassi from the Seattle Sounders, grabbing the speedy winger with their first pick. The Sounders have pulled back Patrick Ianni, whose quality defending at center back was a definite asset to Seattle this season. Who will be next to go from the Seattle Sounders?

Stay tuned for more information, including a first round summary.

2010 MLS Expansion Draft: Seattle Sounders Protected List

The Seattle Sounders have announced their protected list for Wednesday's expansion draft, in which Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will select from the unprotected players to help form their squads for 2011.

Protected Players
Osvaldo Alonso
Brad Evans
Alvaro Fernandez
Mike Fucito
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Nate Jaqua
Kasey Keller
Fredy Montero
Jeff Parke
James Riley
Steve Zakuani

Unprotected Players
Julien Baudet
Terry Boss
Danny Earls
David Estrada
Leo Gonzalez
Taylor Graham
Patrick Ianni
Roger Levesque
Tyrone Marshall
Miguel Montaño
Blaise Nkufo
Pat Noonan
Sanna Nyassi
Zach Scott
Michael Seamon
Nathan Sturgis
Tyson Wahl

So after the Sounders announce the trade of Pete Vagenas to Colorado Rapids in exchange for Julien Baudet and Danny Earls, Seattle elected to leave their two newest players unprotected.

While there aren't many big surprises on this list--many had hoped Blaise Nkufo would stick around, but most who follow the Sounders realized there was a great likelihood that he would be left unprotected--Sounders supporters shouldn't fret too much if one of their favorite players is on the unprotected list. After all, Seattle can only lose two players in this expansion draft. The true worry is seeing one of our favorites wearing a Whitecaps kit, or even worse, donning yellow and green.

Seattle Sounders Trade Pete Vagenas To Colorado Rapids In Exchange For Two Defenders

The Seattle Sounders have announced that midfielder Pete Vagenas has been traded to Colorado Rapids in exchange for defenders Julien Baudet and Danny Earls.

Vagenas is an 11-year MLS veteran and has been with Seattle for the past two seasons, chosen by the team in the 2008 expansion draft. This season, Vagenas had 10 appearances with the club before being placed on the disabled list with a quadriceps strain. In an interesting move, Vagenas has now been left unprotected for this season's expansion draft, scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Trading away Vagenas could be considered a sign of the Sounders' continued faith in youth, with the club favoring youngsters rather than experienced veterans. While Julien Baudet is a 31-year-old Frenchman, having played ten years in his native country, it is the arrival of Danny Earls that is more exciting for Seattle. The 21-year-old has been in MLS for just one year, starting 15 games for the Rapids.

Earls, a native of Dublin, Ireland, started his career with Wicklow Rovers before moving to Aston Villa. Although Earls never had an appearance for the senior side, the Villa reserves are one of the best sides in England, regularly winning the reserve league championship. A young, quality defender would go a long way toward strengthening the Seattle defense, which started to show signs of wear and tear at the end of last season.