Real Salt Lake announced Monday that it has declined contract options for FW Robbie Findley, FW Benji Lopez, DF Rich Balchan and DF Aaron Maund. The club also extended Bona Fide contract offers to DF Nat Borchers, DF Chris Wingert and MF Cole Grossman.
Findley, Balchan and Maund are all eligible to participate in Major League Soccer’s Re-Entry Process, while Lopez will go through the Waiver Draft on Dec. 10. Phase One of the Re-Entry Draft will take place on Dec. 12 with Phase Two on Dec. 19. In Phase One, selecting teams take on the player’s 2015 contract option for players in an option year and their 2014 salary for players whose contracts have expired. In Phase Two, clubs and players are free to negotiate contracts.
Findley, 29, had six goals in his return to RSL in 2013 after a stint with Nottingham Forest in England, but off-season knee surgery limited him in 2014. He finished the season with one goal in 16 appearances, eight of them starts. He had 36 career goals for the Claret-and-Cobalt, spanning 137 matches over six seasons.
Balchan, 25, started two of his four appearances for Real Salt Lake this season. He signed with the club in 2013 after two seasons with the Columbus Crew. Maund, 24, started in five of his six appearances for RSL this season after making three starts in his first year with the club in 2013. Previously, he played one season with Toronto FC. Lopez, 19, signed with Real Salt Lake as the club’s fifth Homegrown Player from RSL’s Arizona Academy in the summer of 2013. Though he didn’t make an appearance with the first team, he remained a regular call-up for the U.S. U-20 National Team.
The remaining players on Real Salt Lake’s roster either remain under contract or had their options exercised for the 2015 season.
Real Salt Lake is readying for the 2015 season, the club’s 11th campaign in Major League Soccer. Over the next six weeks the club’s roster will be built as RSL sets aim on returning to the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.
The upcoming calendar of drafts is as follows.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
MLS Expansion Draft
MLS Waiver Draft
Friday, December 12, 2014
Re-Entry Draft, Phase One
Friday, December 19, 2014
Re-Entry Draft, Phase Two
January 15, 2015
MLS SuperDraft
