On Saturday, the Galaxy won the MLS Cup. On Monday, the team began building toward next season, exercising contract options on five players, declining options on two others and opening negotiations on new deals with two players whose contracts have expired.
By MLS offseason standards, that’s nothing more than some minor tweaks, although the Galaxy could still lose a player to San Diego FC in Wednesday’s expansion draft.
After picking up the options on midfielder Mark Delgado and defender Jalen Neal, 13 of the 14 players who appeared in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, plus injured playmaker Riqui Puig, are under contract for next season. The only exception is captain Maya Yoshida, whose contract that paid him $893,000 last season has expired.
The Galaxy said Tuesday they are in negotiations with the 36-year-old Japanese center back on a new deal, as they are with defender Eriq Zavaleta, who is also out of contract.
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The Galaxy also picked up contract options on midfielders Tucker Lepley, Isaiah Parente and Gino Vivi, who played a combined 88 minutes this season.
The Galaxy declined options on defender Martín Cáceres, a four-time World Cup player with Uruguay, and backup goalkeeper Brady Scott. Cáceres, who will turn 38 in April, played 15 games before an Achilles injury ended his season in August.
Cáceres, who made $657,000 in the final year of his two-year contract, is expected to retire.
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Scott, 25, the team’s third-choice goalkeeper, has been with four MLS teams since 2020 but has not appeared in a league game. He joined the Galaxy last March.
The Galaxy will report for preseason training camp next month ahead of their MLS opener, at home, with San Diego FC on the weekend of Feb. 22. By virtue of their MLS title, the team’s sixth championship, the Galaxy will open play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in early March, entering the competition in the round of 16.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
