{"id":8659742,"date":"2022-11-10T13:48:44","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T21:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8659742&preview=true&preview_id=8659742"},"modified":"2022-11-11T04:31:15","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T12:31:15","slug":"earthquakes-leave-nine-exposed-for-expansion-draft-including-a-surprise-or-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2022\/11\/10\/earthquakes-leave-nine-exposed-for-expansion-draft-including-a-surprise-or-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Earthquakes leave nine exposed for expansion draft, including a surprise or two"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013\u2013 With St. Louis City SC joining MLS next season, the league will hold an expansion draft Friday afternoon. The San Jose Earthquakes have left nine players unprotected, including their inaugural homegrown signing and a former second overall pick.<\/p>\n

Tommy Thompson, San Jose\u2019s first homegrown player, has been with the club since 2014. The 27-year-old defender has played 20 or more games in three out of the past four seasons. Toward the end of the 2022 season, he was starting in most of the Quakes’ games but had been mainly coming off the bench before that. Seven of San Jose\u2019s players protected from the draft are defenders, signifying that San Jose could be ready to move on from a fan favorite.<\/p>\n

Siad Haji, 22, is another noteworthy player who the Quakes left unprotected. He has only played 13 minutes with the team since San Jose took him No. 2 overall in the 2019 draft out of Virginia Commonwealth University. He played with various United States national soccer youth teams and recently clocked in with Somalia\u2019s national team, but has never really been able to get minutes in San Jose because of the veteran-heavy midfield room. A start at a new club could see him reach his untapped potential.<\/p>\n

Another player left unprotected was Shea Salinas, although he announced his retirement from soccer this past season.<\/p>\n