Ned Grabavoy picked first by New York City FC in MLS Expansion Draft

With their first pick of the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft, New York City FC picked Real Salt Lake midfielder Ned Grabavoy.

Grabavoy joined Real Salt Lake in 2009, having been waived by San Jose Earthquakes. Since joining the club, his minutes have increased every year, and in 2014, he missed only one match for Real Salt Lake. He played 2,711 minutes in 2014.

Across his Real Salt Lake career, Grabavoy played in 159 regular season games for Real Salt Lake after joining the club in his sixth MLS season, having played for San Jose, Columbus Crew, and LA Galaxy before that. Grabavoy left his journeyman reputation behind at Real Salt Lake, becoming an important player for RSL.

Grabavoy is one of several players to have joined Jason Kreis at New York City FC, having played under Kreis since 2009, when he joined Real Salt Lake, until 2013, when Kreis departed the club for the MLS newcomers in New York.