D.C. United waited until the very last moment to release their list of re-signed and departing players, with the league deadline set at tonight. Until will still have a chance to negotiate with these players up until the eve of the re-entry draft, stage one, which will take place this Friday.
D.C. United exercised the options on the contracts of Fabian Espindola, Sean Franklin, and Steve Birnbaum, as well as Taylor Kemp, Chris Korb, Conor Doyle, Luke Mishu, Travis Worra, Miguel Aguilar, and Jared Jeffrey. These re-signings contain no surprises: Fabi, Franklin, and Birnbaum are three of the most important players on the team, and the rest of those players have played significant minutes for either United or the Richmond Kickers. Of course, it does not mean that the team won't try to bring in more players to move ahead of those re-signed.
The players who are out of contract or who had their options declined are Michael Farfan, Jairo Arrieta, Andrew Dykstra, and Perry Kitchen. United also waived Facundo Coria. The team stated that it remains in active negotiations with Kitchen and Dykstra. Farfan was signed at the beginning of this season after a stint in Mexico, but was injured for much of the year. Arrieta started the season well, while Espindola was suspended and injured, but seemingly became redundant after the trade for Alvaro Saborio.
What do you think of the moves so far?