Four players were selected in Wednesday's Waiver Draft.
The New York Red Bulls selected Marcus Epps after making a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes to acquire the No. 1 spot in the draft order. Epps joins the Red Bulls from the Philadelphia Union where he had three goals and three assists in 32 matches (15 starts) over two seasons. He was originally selected No. 25 overall in the 2017 SuperDraft. The Red Bulls sent their second-round pick in the 2019 SuperDraft to San Jose to move up in the order from No. 21.
"We like what we have seen from Marcus, and are pleased to have moved up in the draft to add him to our roster," said RBNY sporting director Denis Hamlett in a statement. "Marcus' qualities fit our philosophy and he gives us another wide attacking option. We look forward to seeing how he can continue to develop within our environment."
The Chicago Fire selected two players on Wednesday, first taking Columbus Crew SC winger Cristian Martinez and following it up with LAFC forward Marco Ureña. Martinez signed with Crew SC in May 2016 and had a goal and two assists over 1,275 minutes with the club. He was a part of Panama's provisional roster for the 2018 World Cup but did not make the final cut. He has appeared in five matches since the World Cup has ended.
A veteran of both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups with Costa Rica, Ureña heads to the Fire in what could be his third stop in three years in MLS. The 28-year-old forward came to MLS in 2017 with the Earthquakes, scoring five goals, before being selected by LAFC in the MLS Expansion Draft before the 2018 season. He scored once and added five assists across 18 appearances for LAFC.
Ricky Lopez-Espin was the other player to be selected in the 2018 Waiver Draft, going to LAFC. The forward was selected No. 33 overall in the 2018 SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake and made one appearance with the first team in 2018. He appeared in eight matches with Real Monarchs in USL while on loan.
The players who were not selected are now free to sign with the team of their choice.
The Waiver Draft includes players who are not eligible for Re-Entry or Free Agency and either A) are out of contract and have not been issued a Genuine Offer or B) have not had their 2019 options exercised.
Under Contract players who are selected in the Waiver Draft will be automatically added to the drafting club’s roster. Clubs that claim Out of Contract players must issue a genuine offer to the selected player. All four players selected on Wednesday saw their options declined this offseason as each team will be required to issue a genuine offer to the player they picked.
