Sporting Kansas City roster for 2017 begins to take shape

A significant glimpse into Sporting Kansas City’s plans for its 2017 roster arrived Wednesday.

The club announced that it has exercised 2017 contract options for defenders Saad Abdul-Salaam, Jimmy Medranda and Seth Sinovic and midfielders Benji Joya and Lawrence Olum.

It declined options for defender Ever Alvarado, midfielder Emmanuel Appiah, wingers Connor Hallisey and Justin Mapp and homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin — making their returns to Kansas City increasingly unlikely.

Homegrown defender Kevin Ellis and goalkeeper Alec Kann are out of contract, but the club plans to extend offers to both players and classified negotiations as ongoing. The offers will allow Sporting KC to retain their…