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The SB Nation Mock MLS Expansion Draft took place last week, with SB Nation newcomers Hudson River Blue and The Mane Land getting their pick of players across the league. You saw our mock expansion draft protected list, and you can probably predict who our first player gone was.
Nat Borchers was picked first overall by Orlando City, which is sort of a worrying development. It makes me wonder if maybe I was wrong to not protect Nat Borchers, but hindsight is 20:20. Carlos Salcedo's Twitter rumble had only just begun, Aaron Maund hadn't had his option declined, and things seemed relatively stable for the future. Alas, Nat Borchers and Chris Schuler might be the only two center backs rostered by the time 2015 starts.
Devon Sandoval was New York City's sixth pick, which was slightly surprising. His 2014 wasn't great, and he'd have to be given a senior deal and retained on the roster at NYC for the year. A good development for players, certainly, but it lends some risk to that pick for Kreis's City.
Where would that leave Real Salt Lake? Defensively, it would be uncomfortable. Chris Schuler would be the only senior center back remaining at the club if Salcedo departs. That's a slightly frightening prospect. I mean, he's great, but he's just one guy. Justen Glad isn't even 18 yet, and while he can play center back, it seems like throwing him to the wolves.
In attack, it wouldn't be all that bad. We'd still have many rostered forwards: Alvaro Saborio, Joao Plata, Sebastian Jaime, and Olmes Garcia. That's not a bad setup to go into 2015 with.
What do you think? If you were New York City and Orlando City, would you have picked other players instead?