While the 2016 Major League Soccer season is still in action, three clubs announced roster moves on Wednesday that will affect the complexion of their squads next season.
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The Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Orlando City and Sporting KC all made significant changes to their rosters ahead of 2017, which included the releases of Justin Mapp, Steve Clark and Luke Boden.
The Fire, Crew and Orlando City finished as the bottom three sides in the Eastern Conference, leaving significant room for improvement next season.
Sporting KC was the only of the four teams to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs in 2016, however, Peter Vermes’ side bailed out in the first round against the Seattle Sounders.
Here’s a quick rundown of each team’s roster moves on Wednesday:
Chicago Fire
Exercised options: Arturo Alvarez, Jonathan Campbell, Sean Johnson, Matt Lampson, Matt Polster, Brandon Vincent, Patrick Doody, Joey Calistri and Drew Conner
Out of contract: Razvan Cocis, Eric Gehrig, Nick LaBrocca, Patrick McLain, Alex Morrell, Rodrigo Ramos, Michael Stephens, Luis Solignac and Khaly Thiam.
Columbus Crew
Exercised options: Nicolai Naess, Dilly Duka, Marshall Hollingsworth, Cristian Martinez and Mohammed Saeid
Out of contract: Steve Clark, Matt Pacifici, Corey Ashe, Cedrick Mabwati, Chad Barson and Michael Parkhurst
Orlando City
Out of contract: Kevin Alston, Luke Boden, Seb Hines, Tyler Turner, Pedro Ribeiro and Júlio Baptista
Sporting KC
Exercised options: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Jimmy Medranda, Seth Sinovic, Benji Joya and Lawrence Olum
Out of contract: Nuno Andre Coelho, Kevin Ellis, Alec Kann, Chance Myers, Paulo Nagamura, Jacob Peterson, Ever Alvarado, Emmanuel Appiah, Connor Hallisey, Jon Kempin and Justin Mapp
