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Cake or Death? Well, at least Marcelo Saragosa is still Kaka's best friend. Even if he's no longer on D.C. United

With the 2013 season finally, mercifully behind us, it's time to run through the D.C. United roster and determine who should stay and eat cake and who should leave the team and find inevitable death. Today, we look at the departed best friend of Kaka, Marcelo Saragosa.

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For the second straight day, we vote on the fate of a player whose fate has already been decided. Yesterday it was Carlos Ruiz, and today it's Marcelo Saragosa up for a round of Cake or Death despite his option already being declined by D.C. United. But we're going to talk about him anyway.

Saragosa is very much within the mold that Ben Olsen looks for in his central midfielders. He never stops running, doesn't mind diving into a tackle, and at his best can pick out a pretty pass to key the attack. But most importantly, he could provide a calming presence in possession, keeping the ball moving while also recognizing when United needed to hold onto the ball rather than playing a more direct style.

He wasn't always effective in these roles, and there were days that he too closely resembled a walking yellow card. Combined with injuries, these shortcomings relegated him to the bench for much of 2013. That situation surely contributed to the fact that his charitable work in D.C. may be the overriding memory of his time with United.

Never mind that he's already off the team, though. We've got some Cake or Death to hand out. Vote for cake if you think there should have been room for Kaka's best friend on next year's team. If not, then vote for death.