Photo: Earl Gardner

In an ordinary offseason, MLS fans could be forgiven for losing track of the various drafts that the league holds. There’s the waiver draft, the re-entry draft, the SuperDraft — it’s enough to make you reach for a Yuengling draft to build a drinking game.

This year, there’s even more.

You get your bonus expansion draft, which pops up before new teams enter the league, in this case New York City FC and Orlando City Lions.

Then there’s that rarest of drafts: The contraction draft. Chivas USA is blessedly no more, and their players have to go somewhere. This is MLS, so of course the mechanism will be a dispersal draft.

So let’s take a look at those drafts, in the order they will take place, and break down what opportunities and challenges Philadelphia Union will face with each.

The Chivas USA dispersal draft

• Date: Nov. 19
• Description: A draft in which other MLS teams claim players under contract with Chivas USA.
• Rules: MLS will hold a random weighted draw on Nov. 14 using an envelope method. The system will be weighted by giving the 2014 playoff clubs a single envelope and giving the non-playoff clubs two envelopes. The random selections will be conducted by an MLS league office representative until each club has been appointed a draft position. Striker Cubo Torres will be excluded from the draft.

Philadelphia will join other MLS clubs in picking over Chivas USA’s carcass to scavenge the few quality morsels available. Actually, that may be downplaying what’s available. If the Union draw a good spot in the draft order, they could acquire someone useful.

Here are the top options.

1. Dan Kennedy, goalkeeper: You know this guy is No. 1 on any Union draft list. After all, you can never have too many good goalkeepers.
2. Nigel Reo-Coker, midfielder: You can also never have too many holding midfielders. Jokes aside, Reo-Coker’s salary may scare off suitors, who may prefer to see if he’s willing to sign at a lower salary come Re-Entry Draft time.
3. Marvin Chavez, winger: Chavez was unstoppable for San Jose a couple of years ago, but then he went all prima donna on everyone and got traded to Colorado and then purgatory, aka Chivas. At 31 years old, he may be a head case worth avoiding.
4. Martin Rivero, attacking midfielder: Rivero turns 25 this week, but he’s still one of those players people talk about in terms of potential. He looked really good for Colorado after leaving his native Argentina, but he tore his ACL this year and has generally been unable to stay healthy in MLS. Philadelphia could be a good comfort zone for him, however, where he could play his way back to fitness as a backup to fellow Argentine Chaco Maidana.
5. Nathan Sturgis, center midfielder: Sturgis seemed to finally break out in 2013 with Colorado as a box-to-box midfielder. Then Pablo Mastroeni replaced Oscar Pareja and sent his club on a nosedive that included a trade of Sturgis. The journeyman has played for seven teams in nine MLS seasons, but he is a quality player who could be a valuable depth option. (No, he’s not a pure defensive midfielder!)
6. Thomas McNamara, midfielder: Another young player with some spark who tore his ACL last year. Someone will pick him.
7. Andrew Jean-Baptiste, center back/right back: He’s young (22), athletic, and an occasional head case. Sounds like a winner. Chivas played him at right back at times, but center back is where this big guy belongs.
8. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, center back: Seattle discarded him last year to Chicago, who in turn tossed him to Chivas. Philadelphia inquired about him early last season, but Hurtado isn’t worth what he’s paid.
9. Bobby Burling, center back: Decent but slow center back. He can be starting quality if he has good players around him.

Best options for Philadelphia: Sturgis, McNamara, Rivero, Jean-Baptiste. Aside from Sturgis, these are all younger players with obstacles to overcome. But if the Union can get them at good salaries, it’s worth a roster spot. As for Sturgis, he showed that a good coach could put him in position to be one of the league’s better center midfielders, but he has a starter’s salary that will probably drive off Philadelphia. Don’t be surprised if Pareja tries to grab him for Dallas.

Or the Union could pick Dan Kennedy. That would be awesome.

The Expansion Draft

• Date: Dec. 10
• Description: Two expansion teams will choose players left unprotected by existing MLS clubs.
• Rules: Each team protects 11 players. Generation adidas and homegrown players don’t have to be protected. Once a team loses a player, they can protect another one. The Union also likely have to protect at least three internationals, based on past draft rules. The draft lasts 10 rounds.

The Union may not have the most depth in the league, but they have quite a few players who would be of interest if left unprotected. And frankly, some of those players may want to get chosen, because a fresh start could do them wonders.

Here’s a look at the 11 players the Union will probably protect.

1. Vincent Nogueira
2. Chaco Maidana
3. Sebastien Le Toux
4. Amobi Okugo
5. Carlos Valdes
6. Ray Gaddis
7. Andrew Wenger
8. Maurice Edu
9. Pedro Ribeiro
10. Rais Mbolhi
11. Sheanon Williams
12. (Next player to pull back: Richie Marquez)

The big question is whether the Union will protect both right backs. If they don’t, one will get picked. Based on his recent contract extension and Jim Curtin’s open appreciation for him, Gaddis is likely to be on the protected list.

So will the Union leave Sheanon Williams unprotected so they can protect Brian Brown?

If they do, Williams will be picked. He is still just 24 years old and, when in form, one of the best in the league at his position.

How high are the Union on Brown? And can another team even select a player on loan?

If the Union are smart, they will protect Williams and figure out some roster mechanism for not needing to protect Brown. Even if they plan to move one of the right backs, they would be better off trading one for something in return instead of losing one for nothing. Brown is young and flashed some signs that he can net some goals, but Williams is a proven starter and a core part of this club.

Big names unprotected: Conor Casey and Brian Carroll are both out of contract. Each will probably be asked to return at lower salaries, but the Union are unlikely to protect either. Casey would be the bigger loss — the Union have defensive midfielders to spare — but the club wants to upgrade the position anyway and could let him go in the Re-Entry Draft. And there’s Zac MacMath, who will not be back with the Union next year unless Rais Mbolhi gets hit by a meteor.

Ineligible for draft: Andre Blake is Generation adidas. Jimmy McLaughlin, Zach Pfeffer and Cristhian Hernandez are homegrown players.

Likely selections: Austin Berry and Zac MacMath, unless they get traded before the draft, which the Union are almost certainly trying to do. Berry, a former rookie of the year, was a regular starter his first three years in the league before enduring a dramatic fall from grace. A return to form would give his new club a very good starting center back. As for MacMath, his ordeal has been well-documented. Each expansion club would be wise to take a 23-year-old former first round pick with more than 90 starts to his name who played much better this season than his stats indicate.

The Union have two others who could go too, particularly if MacMath and/or Berry get traded. Center back Richie Marquez had a very good season for Harrisburg, and Orlando will be very familiar with him. Finally, Mike Lahoud is a great depth option who is one of those solid people every smart coach likes to build a locker room around.

Probably hoping to get picked: Berry, Antoine Hoppenot, Aaron Wheeler. Hoppenot and Wheeler were John Hackworth guys. Jim Curtin had no use for either. Wheeler has the ability to be a quality starter, whether it’s at target forward or with a full offseason (and maybe a USL loan) spent at center back.

The Waiver Draft

• Date: Dec. 10
• Description: The end-of-season scrap heap for players who got waived.
• Rules: Teams pick up out-of-contract players or players whose options were not exercised and are otherwise not eligible for the Re-Entry Draft. This draft goes in reverse order of teams’ finish in the standings.

This is the draft that nobody cares about. It is basically just a system for waivers that most other American sports leagues have, except it initiates anew at this particular point.

The Re-Entry Draft

• Date: Dec. 12 (phase 1); Dec. 18 (phase 2)
• Description: The MLS version of free agency.
• Rules: Players who are out of contract with their current clubs are made available to other clubs through a draft if their current teams do not offer them a new contract with a comparable salary. The draft proceeds in two stages. If a team selects a player in the first stage, they are obligated to offer him a salary comparable to his prior year’s salary. Teams may freely negotiate with players selected in the second stage. For detailed rules, click here.

The Union could certainly lose someone in this draft, but they could also get someone. After all, this is how Conor Casey joined the Union from Colorado. D.C. United remade their back line last season by adding Bobby Boswell and Sean Franklin through this draft, and it was a huge part of them winning the Eastern Conference championship.

We have no idea who will be available in this draft yet, so it’s too early to speculate. But we can certainly gauge who the Union could lose.

1. Amobi Okugo: Okugo will not be made available in this draft, regardless of what he plans to do next season. The Union will make a qualifying offer that retains Okugo’s rights.
2. Brian Carroll: Carroll will likely be available unless he agrees to renew with the Union at a significantly lower salary. He projects as a backup if he returns, so don’t be surprised if Carroll tests the waters. He could be a good back line shield for an expansion club with young center backs.
3. Conor Casey: Look for the Union to try to retain Casey at a lesser salary. Look for him to be smart enough to agree to it.

The amateur draft (aka “SuperDraft)

• Date: Jan. 15
• Description: Typical amateur draft, like the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB conduct. The draft will be held in Philadelphia.
• Rules: Same old same old.

There is nothing super about this draft, OK? It’s just an amateur draft. That’s it! Stop calling it a SuperDraft.

Your preview consists of this:

The Union have the 10th pick in each round.

They should pick the best player available, maybe even make a trade or two.

This draft will be in Philadelphia.

Do not draft a goalkeeper in a house full of Philadelphia fans. It would be bad.