Timbers announce protected players ahead of expansion draft

PORTLAND, OR – JULY 23: Dairon Asprilla and Jaroslaw Niezgoda of the Timbers share a moment after the MLS match between San Jose Earthquakes and Portland Timbers at Providence Park on July 23, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Simon Sturzaker/Getty Images)

The Portland Timbers announced the following players as protected ahead of Friday’s expansion draft for MLS newcomers St Louis City SC.

Dairon Asprilla, David Ayala, Claudio Bravo, Diego Chara, Yimmi Chara, Aljaz Ivacic, Santiago Moreno, Juan David Mosquera, Jaroslaw Nizgoda, Christian Paredes, Bill Tuioloma, Dario Zuparic.

Homegrown players are exempt from the protection list, including Eryk Williamson, Blake Bodily, Tega Ikoba, and Hunter Sulte.

The unprotected players, available for selection by St. Louis, include: Sebastian Blanco, Marvin Loria, Zac McGraw, Felipe Mora, Larrys Mabiala, Joe Carlos Van Rankin, Diego Gutierrez, Nathan Fogaca, George Fochive, Pablo Bonilla, David Bingham, Justin Rasmussen, Justin vom Steeg.

More from the Portland Timbers/MLS Soccer press release:

On Friday, November 11, St. Louis City SC will take part in the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft, ahead of its inaugural season as the league’s 29th team.

The draft will begin at 4pm PT and will be broadcast live on MLSsoccer.com, the MLS App, Twitter, and Twitch.

St. Louis can select up to five players from a list of 263 eligible players drawn from 23 teams (5 teams are exempt from the draft this year). Each team can protect 12 players and St. Louis can only pick one player from each team’s unprotected players.