The Philadelphia Union began their offseason re-tooling process on Monday, announcing that they have declined the contract options of five players from their 2014 roster.
Philadelphia declined to pick up options for forwards Conor Casey, Brian Brown and Homegrown player Cristhian Hernandez, as well as midfielders Corben Bone and Fred. Additionally, midfielder Brian Carroll is out of contract.
Casey is the most notable player to have his option declined by the Union. The 33-year-old forward finished second in scoring for Philadelphia last year, tallying eight goals and notching two assists in 25 league appearances.
"The ongoing discussions we have regarding roster decisions are obviously difficult," Union technical director Chris Albright said in a statement. "We will continue to have an open dialogue with several players about their respective futures with our club and we’ll have further announcements to share as we continue to build our roster for the 2015 season.”
Monday's announcement leaves the Union with 24 players on its current roster. One of those players may be headed out soon, however, with a Sunday report indicating that a trade might be in the works involving center back Amobi Okugo.
