The San Jose Earthquakes declined to exercise the 2013 contract option of veteran defender-midfielder Ramiro Corrales on Wednesday, meaning his time with the Quakes appears finished.
The Supporters Shield winners parted ways with Corrales, a 14-year MLS veteran who is also the last remaining active MLS originals from 1996. Corrales played in 22 games for the Quakes in 2012 and scored two goals with seven assists.
Corrales, from nearby Salinas, Calif., played for the San Jose Clash in 1996 and 1997, then returned to join the Earthquakes from 2001-2004. After three years abroad, he came back to the Quakes in 2008 and has been with them ever since.
San Jose also declined to pick the options on defenders Ike Opara and Tim Ward and midfielders Khari Stephenson and Joey Gjertsen.
Opara, a former Generation Adidas player, had been with San Jose since 2010 but because of foot injuries saw action in just 35 matches during those years, 16 in 2012.
Stephenson, 31, from Jamaica, played in 69 games for San Jose since 201o and scored eight goals with eight assists in that span.
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