JACOBS TALKS EXPANSION DRAFT STRATEGY AHEAD OF BIG EVENT NEXT TUESDAY
NASHVILLE – Starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, Nashville SC GM Mike Jacobs became one of the two most powerful men in Major League Soccer.
With all MLS rosters frozen, Jacobs and his Inter Miami CF counterpart Paul McDonough now control all roster movement ahead of the MLS Expansion Draft on Tuesday, November 19. During that draft, Nashville and Miami will be able to select five players for their inaugural MLS rosters. Although, if the past is any indication, at least some of those selections will be traded to other teams for other players or assets.
That means that from now until Tuesday night, Jacobs and McDonough hold all the cards.
Want to acquire an unprotected player on a different team? Talk to Jacobs or McDonough. Want to make sure your unprotected player isn’t picked? Talk to Jacobs or McDonough. Need more SuperDraft picks or allocation money? Talk to Jacobs or McDonough.
The power to pull the strings across MLS only lasts until Tuesday, and Jacobs intends on taking full advantage of it.
“It puts us in a position of strength from the standpoint that teams are now subject to us and Miami selecting players from their rosters,” Jacobs told NashvilleSC.com. “But I think what’s a greater fear for other clubs is the fact that we can select [their] players that are unprotected [on behalf of] other teams as well. The opportunity we have to dictate a lot of movement in our league really puts us in a prime position to not only enhance our roster for next year, but to really acquire some unique assets.”
While Jacobs and his staff will hit the ground running on narrowing down potential picks and trades once they receive the list of unprotected players on Friday night, the lead-up to Tuesday will be the culmination of nearly a year of hard work and scouting. Jacobs said his staff made sure to watch every single match played in MLS during the 2019 season, either on film or in-person, to find the best players that could be available during the Expansion Draft or available via trade.
“We’ve been prepping ourselves for months about the players we think best fit our roster, either players we thought would be unprotected or players we might be able to trade for by selecting a pick,” Jacobs said. “Starting Friday night, we’re matching up either players that we’re looking for ourselves or players that other teams want to acquire. We’re trying to see which players are most valuable. Because that value is not just who we think we can get for our team, but it’s who we think we can acquire and trade to somebody else for more value. The Expansion Draft for us is all about acquiring as much value as we can in drafting players, drafting players for other teams and acquiring assets to get future players.”
On Tuesday, Jacobs’ spreadsheets, scouting and hours of hard work will turn into five picks live on stage at Ole Red ® Nashville alongside some of his staff. That means fans will get to see the selection process in real time and get to see one of MLS’ puppet masters execute a plan that’s been months in the making.
“It’s exciting for our club and for our fans and really for the city of Nashville,” he said. “So many people who grow up playing fantasy football or FIFA, it gives them a chance for an afternoon to see behind the curtain at what this process is like. My guess is you’ll have a lot of fans excited to see who we’re selecting, but to get an idea of what the process is like.”
Join Jacobs at the Expansion Draft party at Ole Red® on Tuesday starting at 4:00 p.m. Click here to RSVP.
