Who could San Diego FC select from Charlotte FC in tonight's Expansion Draft?

By Brian Maurer

Karol Swiderski (Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90)

Yesterday, Charlotte FC and the rest of MLS announced the players they are leaving unprotected for San Diego FC's Expansion Draft. The 2024 Expansion Draft is set for tonight at 10:30 PM EST and will decide the fate of five players around MLS who were left unprotected.

San Diego can select and sign or trade five players during the draft. They can choose only one player from any MLS club, no double-dipping allowed.

GiveMeSport writer, Tom Bogert, broke down a few general rules or expectations of expansion drafts to keep in mind as the draft approaches. Here are a few players from Charlotte's list of unprotected players that could be selected by San Diego in tonight's draft based on the five rules Bogert laid out:

Charlotte FC's unprotected list

• Bender, Ben

• Bingham, David

• Diop, Hamady

• Forbes, Jahlane

• Marks, George

• Biel, Pep

• Odunze, Chituru

• Paterson, Jamie

• Pedro, João

• Scardina, Nick

• Smalls, Tyger

• Swiderski, Karol

• Tavares, Iuri

• Toklomati, Idan

• Tuiloma, Bill

• Uronen, Jere

• Urso, Júnior

Tom Bogert's expansion draft rules to keep in mind

Bogert's first rule is to not focus on the Designated Players (DPs) or other expensive senior roster players. His thought process on this is that San Diego FC will want to sign their key players based on the scouting and recruiting they have done. Especially because of the cost that some of these players incur. Essentially they will want to sign "their guys" to fill the top end of their roster. This makes players like Karol Swiderski, Bill Tuiloma, and Jere Uronen all unlikely candidates for selection.

If San Diego FC were to select Swiderski they would have only one DP spot remaining. San Diego likely already has a strategy for how they want to approach DP signings and the chances that Swiderski is a part of that strategy are low. The only likely scenario where Swiderski, Tuiloma, or Uronen get selected is if another club wants to trade with San Diego.

Another note on expenses is players with high transfer fees. If a player was brought in on a transfer fee but that fee hasn't been fully paid off by the club, San Diego would incur that debt by selecting that player. This could be a reason Idan Toklomati was left unprotected by Charlotte. He was reportedly brought in on a transfer fee of around $3.5 million. If there is still money owed on that transfer fee then the chances San Diego selects Toklomati would greatly decrease.

Bogert's second rule is to look for cheaper value options that are also on domestic contracts as they wouldn't need to take up one of San Diego's valuable international roster slots. This decreases the likelihood that players like Iuri Tavares, Hamady Diop, and João Pedro get selected. Tavares and Pedro are senior roster players and all three would take up an international roster spot in San Diego.

Bogert's third rule is clubs generally avoid players on expiring contracts because they could sign those players using a different avenue than the Expansion Draft. This removes Jamie Paterson, Júnior Urso, and Pep Biel from likely contention.

The other rules Bogert suggested keeping an eye on were trades. According to Bogert, a trade seems likely to occur. This would be the most likely scenario for Charlotte's more experienced players to get selected.

Bogert also mentioned handshake deals. Charlotte could offer a trade to San Diego where they give extra value in the trade. Behind the scenes, San Diego agrees to not select Charlotte players in the Expansion Draft because of the extra value they received in the trade. This doesn't seem necessary for the Crown as they do not have a ton of obvious options for San Diego to select.

Unprotected Charlotte FC players to watch

Nick Scardina - The young fullback made his First Team debut in 2024 and looks like a candidate to be the backup right-back in 2025. San Diego could view him as a value pick on a supplemental roster slot who is also a domestic player.

Tyger Smalls - Charlotte FC traded up to select Smalls in the First Round of last year's SuperDraft. He has First Team minutes and is another player San Diego could view as a value pick for their supplemental roster who takes up a domestic spot.

Ben Bender - Charlotte's first SuperDraft selection. He has multiple years of First Team experience and has 15 goal contributions (7g/8a) in 32 MLS starts to his name. He only has one year left on his contract and would take up a senior roster spot. His lower cost (around $125k salary) and domestic status could make him an intriguing pick for San Diego.

Trade - As said before, one of Charlotte's more experienced players could be selected if another team wants to throw a deal together that would intrigue San Diego. This is where a player like Swiderski or Uronen could get selected. If another MLS club offers San Diego a decent amount of general allocation money (GAM), a trade deal could be accepted.

Summary

Overall, when looking at Charlotte FC's list of unprotected players compared to other clubs around MLS it seems like there is a good chance that Charlotte's players are safe. Most of the players that appear to be the most likely candidates based on Bogert's rules would also be relatively easy to replace in terms of player value and roster position.

The one major hurdle Charlotte will aim to avoid is another club offering San Diego a big trade deal for one of Charlotte's more experienced senior roster players.