COMMERCE CITY — Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Rapids have begun to consider what their 2015 roster will look like.
First-year coach Pablo Mastroeni said he hopes to add a handful of veteran players to the Rapids’ young corps.
“When you don’t make the playoffs, you’re looking at every position as a place of need,” Mastroeni said. “You have to make some tough assessments.”
The first of those decisions will come after the Rapids’ final match, Oct. 25 in Vancouver, British Columbia. After that game, the Rapids will finalize a list of in the Dec. 10 MLS expansion draft. In addition to those 11 players, all homegrown and Generation Adidas players are automatically protected. That list includes homegrown players such as Shane O’Neill, Dillon Serna and Davy Armstrong and Generation Adidas player Marlon Hairston.
New York City FC and Orlando City SC will join MLS in 2015, with each club having 10 selections in the expansion draft. Orlando City has the first pick. Each existing team can lose up to two players.
“You have to really look at the players you have to protect, and a whole host of variables goes into that selection process,” Mastroeni said. “You want to make sure those are the guys you’re going to continue building on and that are important pieces.”
Once the list is finalized, Mastroeni said the players will be informed whether they’ve been protected. After the expansion draft, the Rapids will turn their attention to adding players.
“We’re still kind of fine-tuning all that,” Mastroeni said. “Obviously, the center back role this year kind of left us hanging, so that’s one obvious position of need.”
Rapids president Tim Hinchey and vice president of soccer operations Paul Bravo were , chief executive of Arsenal, to discuss how the two clubs can work more closely together. The English Premier League side and the Rapids are both owned by Stan Kroenke.
Hinchey described the meeting as “very positive,” adding that the possibiltiy of the Gunners sending players on loan to Colorado was discussed.
“They also suggested sharing scouting resources, which is huge,” Hinchey told The Denver Post.
Hinchey said the two teams agreed to revisit talks about player loans closer to January. That would give the Rapids time to see how their roster shakes out after the expansion draft.
Last winter, Arsenal midfielder Samuel Galindo came in on trial with the Rapids, but a loan was never finalized.
Hinchey hinted at the possibility of Arsenal players coming in on loan to the Rapids, noting the relationship between NYCFC and its parent club, Manchester City of the English Premier League. NYCFC coach Jason Kreis has said the expansion club will bring in .
“I haven’t been privy to those conversations,” Mastroeni said. “I haven’t to this point heard anything about any loan deal with any Arsenal players.”
Daniel Boniface: 303-954-1104, dboniface@denverpost.com or twitter.com/danielboniface
