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San Diego FC took the next steps toward building their roster on Wednesday night. And if there’s as much action on the field as there was during Major League Soccer’s expansion draft, the club could be in for a thrilling first season.
San Diego engineered multiple moves on Wednesday, taking Thiago Andrade from New York City FC and Hosei Kijima from St. Louis FC in the expansion draft and trading them to Toronto FC and D.C. United, respectively.
The price for Andrade, a Brazilian winger, was steep. Toronto traded its first-round pick (No. 9 overall) in this year’s MLS SuperDraft and $250,000 in conditional general allocation money to San Diego FC. San Diego already picks first in the SuperDraft as the only expansion team entering the league in 2025.
D.C. United sent San Diego FC $400,000 in general allocation money in exchange for Kijima, a Japanese-born midfielder.
San Diego also selected fullback/midfielder Jasper Loffelsend from the Colorado Rapids, defender Hamady Diop from Charlotte FC and midfielder Heine Gikling Bruseth from Orlando City.
Wednesday’s moves came hours after first-year sporting director Tyler Heaps landed defender Christopher McVey from D.C. United and goalkeeper CJ dos Santos from Inter Miami in exchange for money. Dos Santos, 24, is under contract for 2025 with a club option for ’26. He made 31 appearances for Lionel Messi’s Miami club and its top minor-league affiliate over two seasons. San Diego paid $100,000 to Inter Miami for the goalie.
McVey played alongside dos Santos in Miami during the 2023 season before he was traded to D.C. United for the 2024 season. He appeared in 28 games, starting all of them, during his first season in D.C. San Diego acquired McVey for $50,000 in 2025 general allocation money and a conditional $50,000 in 2026 allocation money depending on his performance. San Diego then signed McVey, 27, to a two-year contract through the end of the 2026 season.
“Chris brings versatility and experience to our team,” said Heaps. “He has proven he can defend at a high level in this league, and he will come in to compete for a spot across our backline. We’re excited to welcome him to San Diego FC as we continue to build a strong and balanced squad for our inaugural season.”
Heaps called dos Santos “a promising goalkeeper who brings international experience and depth to our squad.”
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