LA Galaxy get something for nothing with Joe Corona departure

Joe Corona was out of contract with the LA Galaxy at the end of this year, but the midfielder was taken in the MLS Expansion Draft last week by Austin FC. Story over, right?

Nope.

On Tuesday, MLS held the second round of the Re-Entry Draft — essentially a waiver draft for the right to negotiate with selected players out of contract — and the Houston Dynamo selected...Joe Corona.

It was a stunning turn of events, because it means Austin picked Corona for nothing, basically. They knew when they selected him they would have to negotiate for a new contract, but then having another team pick him days later means one of their five Expansion Draft picks went for nothing at all.

Also, this whole scenario helped the Galaxy substantially.

Here’s why: Because the Galaxy lost a player — even one out of contract — in the Expansion Draft, they’re getting $75,000 in allocation money. They will also be exempt from participating in the next Expansion Draft, meaning they can’t have a player selected next time around, something that will take a lot of pressure off the front office, not having to worry about a protected list or losing a player at all.

Now, if Austin had skipped Corona last week and Houston had taken him in the Re-Entry Draft directly from the Galaxy, LA would not have gotten the allocation money and they would not be exempt from the next Expansion Draft (unless another Galaxy player had been selected in Corona’s place, of course).

So to recap: Austin got nothing from their Corona selection, and the Galaxy got something. Wild, huh? Anyway, thanks, Austin FC!

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