Chicago Fire trades tenth pick in MLS Draft; Selects defender at No. 26 [UPDATED]

With the tenth overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, the Chicago Fire selected... no one.

The club traded the pick at the last minute to the New York Red Bulls, and will receive $100,000 in general allocation money in return.

At no. 26, the Fire took Jonathan Jimenez, a defender/midfielder from the University of the Pacific. He’s 5’11”, and spent his first couple college seasons at Seton Hall before moving to the University of the Pacific, where he started all 21 games in which he appeared from 2018-2019. He had eight goals and five assists, including a hat trick against the No. 11-ranked University of Portland. Jimenez is originally from Florida.

During MLS’s online coverage, Taylor Twellman mentioned Jimenez plays left back, so this pick makes sense. The Fire will need someone to back up Jonathan Bornstein, and Jimenez could learn a lot playing behind the former US international, if he gets the chance at that position.

Jimenez also plays a few different midfield positions, which could help with squad depth.

The Fire had no picks in the second round. Rounds three and four take place on a conference call on January 13.

Here’s the complete first round:

1. Inter Miami - Robbie Robinson, Forward, Clemson
2. Nashville SC - Jack Maher, Defender, Indiana
3. Inter Miami - Dylan Nealis, Defender, Georgetown
4. Vancouver - Ryan Raposo, Midfielder, Syracuse
5. Orlando - Daryl Dike, Forward, Virginia
6. New England - Henry Kessler, Defender, Virginia
7. Columbus - Miguel Berry, Forward, University of San Diego
8. Houston - Garrett McLaughlin, Forward, SMU
9. Montreal - Jeremy Kelly, Defender, UNC
10. New York Red Bulls (from Chicago Fire) - Patrick Seagrist, Defender, Marquette
11. Nashville - Alistair Johntson, Defender, Wake Forest
12. San Jose - Tanner Beason, Defender, Stanford
13. Nashville - Elliot Panicco, GK, UNC Charlotte
14. FC Dallas - Nkosi Burgess, Defender, Seattle
15. New York Red Bulls - Cherif Dieye, Midfielder, Lousiville
16. Portland - Aaron Molloy, Defender, Penn State
17. Dallas - Cal Jennings, Forward, Central Florida
18. Minnesota - Noah Billingsley, Defender, UC Santa Barbara
19. Toronto - Nyal Higgins, Defender, Syracuse
20. Salt Lake - Dayonn Harris, Midfielder, Connecticut
21. DC United - Simon Lefebvre, GK, Temple
22. NYCFC - Jesus Perez, Midfielder, UIC
23. Atlanta - Patrick Nielsen, Defender, Michigan State
24. LAFC - Paulo Pita, GK, Marshall
25. Toronto - Achara, Midfielder, Georgetown
26. Chicago Fire - Jonathan Jimenez, Left Back, Pacific