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Sounders Contract Thoughts

I have done a few variations of this over the years, but with the main season over for the Sounders, and we're heading into the post season it seems like a good time to look at the roster and begin prognosticating on who stays, who goes, etc.

According to Transfermarkt these are the players who's contracts expire this year. This is a friendly reminder I don't know anything. This is all my gut reactions and thoughts. I fully expect to be laughably wrong in areas and for folks smarter than me to highlight that.

Keep to Sell

• Obed Vargas - No surprise here. Rumors are already circulating of European teams interested in him. My expectation is the Sounders exercise the contract option and then sell him for his chance overseas. I'll miss the wunderkind, but he deserves the chance to compete with the best of the best.

Keep

• Ryan Kent - Signed as a replacement for Paul Arriola heading into the Club World Cup we saw some flashes with him, but between injuries and lack of reliable level of play, I vote we give him another season to try and get into the MLS swing of things.
• Paul Rothrock - Paul, if we let him go, will land somewhere in MLS and likely as a deserved starter. I think he is a crucial piece of our depth and I would happily up his pay to have him in the rotation.
• Osaze de Rosario - He had a good season and has shown sparks of brilliance. Keep him learning with Jordan and Preki and others.

Keep (for the right price)

• Stefan Frei - This one really hurts. I love Stef. I hope he goes on to coach and replay Tommy Dutra for the club. I think he could do really well at that. But also, he's getting up there and he's letting more goals in than we'd like. Add to that that our backup keeper has never been stronger and it's time to see about formally passing the torch.
• Nouhou - There are die hard fans of Nouhou. I have been one of them. But his play has wavered enough that I no longer think he is unquestionably the best in position. I could see us keeping him or letting him go, depending on where contract negotiations land.
• Yeimar - Once one of the undisputed best CBs in the league. His age and injuries are catching up with him. I'd welcome having him stick around for another year in rotation, but I think it will depend on the contract.
• Danny Musovski - No one had this season on their predictions for Moose. I'd like to keep him. But also suspect that he may want to find a role with a larger paycheck and guaranteed starts with another MLS club.
• Kalani Kossa-Rienzi - A product of our development pipeline, he's had some good looks but not enough to merit reliable playing time except in times of need. I could see us keeping him on a low contract but as soon as we're bidding against another team I'd say we should let him go.
• Jon Bell - One of the two depth CBs up for renewal this year. I wouldn't be against keeping him for the right price.
• Kim Kee-Hee - Same as with Jon Bell. Let's make a deal.
• Leo Burney - Another club signing from the Tacoma club to bolster our roster. I imagine we exercise the option and give him more time to play, but we'll see.

Farewell

• Joau Paulo - This one hurts. He rose to be one of my favorite Sounders ever. But time comes for us all. I would love to see him move into another role with the club, whether coaching or working in the youth academy.
• Jacob Castro - Our third string keeper. One of the ancillary roles on the club. He's not had any real chances with the first club and we should always strive for a potential backup keeper to be league ready and, as far as I know, he isn't.

A history of Seattle

As a Seattleite, I have loved delving into the history of the city. This is an excellent top-level primer about the founding of the city.