Scorpions lose two, extend two over busy weekend

After winning the 2014 NASL title, it's been a quiet winter for the San Antonio Scorpions. The club kicked off the winter by inking title-game hero Rafa Castillo to an extension, but since that point, there's been no roster news at all coming from the Texas club.

That changed this weekend, as the Scorpions extended a pair of players, lost one who was out of contract, and traded one to a club they've had dealings with before.

The club started out by announcing the extensions of Julius James and Josue Soto. James was a regular in defense for the Scorpions, starting 24 times and being one of the club's best players. Soto provided valuable depth, starting 13 matches and appearing in a dozen more, playing roles all over the pitch. The extensions mean the club are now just a goalkeeper short of fielding an entire starting eleven, withthe following ten players under contract:

Stephen DeRoux, Julius James, Richard Menjivar, Rafael Castillo, Billy Forbes, Josue Soto, César Elizondo, Eric Hassli, Tomas Zahorski, Trevin Caesar

Meanwhile, the Scorpions were busy trading away defender Jonathan Borrajo, to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. You may remember the two clubs getting together on a trade which brought Walter Restrepo to San Antonio last winter, and like that deal, this one involves future considerations. There's no word yet on what those considerations will be.

Finally, the Indy Eleven announced their first big signing of the winter, poaching Greg Janicki from San Antonio. Janicki has been an ever-present in the center of the San Antonio defense for the past three seasons, and will be a huge addition to the Eleven next year, while leaving a big hole for the defending champions to fill.

The Scorpions still have a lot of work to do if they want to defend their 2014 NASL title, especially with several teams looking like they've already improved quite a bit.