Are you protected?

FC Dallas announced their protected list for the upcoming Expansion Draft, but I don't think anyone gets picked from Frisco. Here's why.

Major League Soccer is a fun and quirky league. Expansion drafts are a mechanism to help boost an incoming team to a level of competitiveness right away. You could argue it's unfair to existing teams, but life is unfair.

And this only adds a little bit of drama, since the new team can pick five players anyway.

It’s a quirk of this league and maybe a little frustrating, because it is unreliable. Just because you might want to get rid of a player whose contract doesn’t fit their role on the team doesn’t mean that an expansion team is going to value them or want to take on an existing deal. There may already be a deal or two with San Diego to not select a particular player from an unprotected list. It’s going to be fun to see what happens, but it can be a very mixed bag.

Here is who FC Dallas has left available for selection, players who are out of contract as well as a handful who are still under contract.

Available for selection (18)
Jimmy Maurer, Amet Korça, Omar Gonzalez, Isaiah Parker, Ruan, Ema Twumasi, Geovane Jesus, Sam Junqua, Herbert Endeley, Asier Illarramendi, Liam Fraser, Carl Sainté, Sebastian Lletget, Tomas Pondeca, Eugene Ansah and Paul Arriola.

Yes, there are some intriguing names available that San Diego could use, but there are also guys whose contracts and age make it a difficult go.

For example, Paul Arriola would be an amazing get for San Diego, returning to help lead a new club in his hometown. But his salary is a lot to take on. Even if San Diego can buy it down, is that a worthy expenditure in their first year? Maybe they can renegotiate him right away to a lower level and extend him, but would that be worth it? Do they even value him?

Herbert Endeley, Carl Sainté, and Tomas Pondeca are all young and bright talents who could sparkle in arguably the best city to live in the US, but do you gamble on them when you could potentially trade for them? And just because they showcased some quality at the MLS Next Pro level, does wasting a precious expansion draft choice on them make sense?

You could argue Sam Junqua is a veteran, flexible defender on a very reasonable contract who would be an aid to the franchise, but again, why not just send FC Dallas some silly money for him? Why not use your expansion draft picks on guys who have significant potential upside?

I think Joseph Lowry hits it on the head, that you are likely focusing on high profile players who can win (see Julian Gressel) as well as high upside attacking guys that could contribute or even be sold in the future for profit.

Looking at our list, I doubt San Diego picks anyone from FC Dallas. If they do, it should be Paul Arriola because of what that story would mean for them. If they want a young defender to build around, Sainté is a decent option with international experience that can help in midfield and on the back line.

But, simply put, I doubt they do with 28 other teams also leaving some talent exposed.

The Expansion Draft is Wednesday at 9:30 PM CT/7:30 PST.