D.C. United has the first pick in Monday's waiver draft; are there any prospects out there?

D.C. United will get its first crack at acquiring new players through the league's various acquisition mechanisms this coming Monday, with the waiver draft. Yes, that does mean that the waiver draft will take place before MLS Cup; it happened the same way last year (and you will win a metaphorical cookie and the respect of all of us here if you can tell me the name of the only person taken in that draft). The draft order is as you would expect: in reverse order of 2013 finish, with playoff results included. The draft took place at 3:30 pm last year, and I would assume it to happen at a similar time this year.

Players eligible will be those who had their contracts terminated or their options not picked up and who are not eligible for the MLS Re-Entry process. If D.C. United takes a player during this waiver draft, they will be moved to the bottom of the waiver draft ranking; remember that a midseason waiver draft is how United acquired Jared Jeffrey, because no one was willing to enter a weighted lottery for him. Lionard Pajoy is an example of a player who would be available only in the waiver draft and not in the Re-Entry Process.

You can take a look at last year's waiver draft list to see the kind of players that are typically available, but it leads me to believe that United will not take anyone on Monday. However, it will force teams, especially those who are out of the playoffs, to start making decisions about who they will keep and who they will not keep; as of now, only D.C. United and the Columbus Crew have announced any players whose options have been declined. The next date that will force the same sort of decision will be the Re-Entry Drafts, which happen in early December.

The offseason is here in full force. Let's see how United chooses to improve.

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