Who will the Rapids bring back in 2015?
The Colorado Rapids are through the Expansion and Waiver Drafts, have declined the options of a batch of player, and still have the Re-Entry and Superdrafts ahead. Plus the FIFA January transfer window. So there's still a huge amount of flux for the 2015 roster. Players who both had their options
exercised and were protected in the Expansion Draft are not discussed here- I'm assuming, short of a trade, they will be back in 2015.
Let's make some predictions! Why? Because it's fun to predict things and play GM, even only to spill virtual ink in cyberspace.
Likely to Return- Yay!:
John Berner
Marc Burch
Charles Elondou
John Neeskens
All four of these players had their option picked up. All but Burch are young; 23 or younger. All four got minutes and starts. And all of them are cheap. It’s kind of a blessing any one of them survived the Expansion Draft over the unplayable Danny Mwanga.
Likely to Return- Huh?:
Nick LaBrocca
Zat Knight
LaBrocca made $154K in 2014. The Rapids declined LaBrocca’s option for 2015, but protected him in the expansion draft, so it looks like he will be resigned for less to play the midfield again. Knight’s late transfer incline me to believe the club wants to give him another run out there, though he did not impress in 2014. No salary data is available on him, but I suspect he was not cheap.
Probably Gone/Old and Expensive:
Eddie Buddle
Marvell Wynne
Buddle made $325K last year and Wynne made $285K, and what they produced didn’t quite justify the cost. I am sure Wynne will get picked up in the Re-Entry draft. I’m not so sure about Buddle.
Probably Gone/ Young Bench Jockeys
Gale Agbossumonde
Carlos Alvarez
Kamani Hill
Grant Van De Casteele
These players are all young and cheap, but none played their way into a regular role. Kamani Hill got some time in August and September, but late in the year he didn’t make the 18. Ditto for Alvarez, who came over from Chivas in exchange for Nathan Sturgis; essentially a trade of an ineffective 26 year-old midfielder for a 23 year-old ineffective midfielder. A-Boss never played a minute, and GVC got one game coming on for an injured Jared Watts, and he looked pretty clueless out there. Maybe both come back, but more likely the club brings in some vets or SuperDraftees in their places.
It’s a 50-50 ball:
Geoffrey Castillion
Dmitri Imbongo
Thomas Piermayr
It’s unclear to me why the hell Castillion and Imbongo were acquired. Something-something international roster slots, something-something MLS roster rules are really complicated. Piermayr is a mystery to me. I thought he had his moments and got better this year, and he’s young. But his option was declined, and he wasn’t protected. I think he has value to the club, at least as defensive depth, so maybe you break camp with him and plan to stash him on the roster of the Carolina Independence.
Dearly Departed:
Jose Mari
Danny Mwanga
Tony Cascio
Brian Mullan
Jose Mari will be missed, and I would’ve liked to see a healthy Cascio and Mullan. Mwanga’s only asset to the team was that his name is fun to say. Try it! It also sounds like one of those things the skinny aliens said in MiB. mwa-ANGAA!
The Colorado Rapids are through the Expansion and Waiver Drafts, have declined the options of a batch of player, and still have the Re-Entry and Superdrafts ahead. Plus the FIFA January transfer window. So there's still a huge amount of flux for the 2015 roster. Players who both had their options
exercised and were protected in the Expansion Draft are not discussed here- I'm assuming, short of a trade, they will be back in 2015.
Let's make some predictions! Why? Because it's fun to predict things and play GM, even only to spill virtual ink in cyberspace.
Likely to Return- Yay!:
John Berner
Marc Burch
Charles Elondou
John Neeskens
All four of these players had their option picked up. All but Burch are young; 23 or younger. All four got minutes and starts. And all of them are cheap. It’s kind of a blessing any one of them survived the Expansion Draft over the unplayable Danny Mwanga.
Likely to Return- Huh?:
Nick LaBrocca
Zat Knight
LaBrocca made $154K in 2014. The Rapids declined LaBrocca’s option for 2015, but protected him in the expansion draft, so it looks like he will be resigned for less to play the midfield again. Knight’s late transfer incline me to believe the club wants to give him another run out there, though he did not impress in 2014. No salary data is available on him, but I suspect he was not cheap.
Probably Gone/Old and Expensive:
Eddie Buddle
Marvell Wynne
Buddle made $325K last year and Wynne made $285K, and what they produced didn’t quite justify the cost. I am sure Wynne will get picked up in the Re-Entry draft. I’m not so sure about Buddle.
Probably Gone/ Young Bench Jockeys
Gale Agbossumonde
Carlos Alvarez
Kamani Hill
Grant Van De Casteele
These players are all young and cheap, but none played their way into a regular role. Kamani Hill got some time in August and September, but late in the year he didn’t make the 18. Ditto for Alvarez, who came over from Chivas in exchange for Nathan Sturgis; essentially a trade of an ineffective 26 year-old midfielder for a 23 year-old ineffective midfielder. A-Boss never played a minute, and GVC got one game coming on for an injured Jared Watts, and he looked pretty clueless out there. Maybe both come back, but more likely the club brings in some vets or SuperDraftees in their places.
It’s a 50-50 ball:
Geoffrey Castillion
Dmitri Imbongo
Thomas Piermayr
It’s unclear to me why the hell Castillion and Imbongo were acquired. Something-something international roster slots, something-something MLS roster rules are really complicated. Piermayr is a mystery to me. I thought he had his moments and got better this year, and he’s young. But his option was declined, and he wasn’t protected. I think he has value to the club, at least as defensive depth, so maybe you break camp with him and plan to stash him on the roster of the Carolina Independence.
Dearly Departed:
Jose Mari
Danny Mwanga
Tony Cascio
Brian Mullan
Jose Mari will be missed, and I would’ve liked to see a healthy Cascio and Mullan. Mwanga’s only asset to the team was that his name is fun to say. Try it! It also sounds like one of those things the skinny aliens said in MiB. mwa-ANGAA!
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