With less than four months remaining until the start of the 2015 Major League Soccer season, expansion side New York City FC is beginning to mold its roster. 

Before Wednesday's expansion draft, the sister club of Manchester City only had a few players on its roster, including Frank Lampard and David Villa.

Now that Jason Kreis' side has had the chance to bolster its roster through the expansion draft, it is time to take a closer look at how the roster is being formed.

Here is a list of the current players who have been acquired by New York City FC over the last year: 

Goalkeeper

Kreis opted for experience in net over the summer, when he signed Josh Saunders on a free transfer. Before joining up with NYCFC, Saunders spent time with the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. 

Saunders has never been a consistent No. 1 'keeper in the league, but he does bring a good amount of experience with him to the pitch. 

It appears as though Saunders will have a chance to mentor a young player at the position, as the club acquired Ryan Meara on loan from the New York Red Bulls, per Soccer by Ives' Ives Galarcep: 

Meara is a prospect with a high upside, who was not going to get playing time with the Red Bulls due to the presence of Luis Robles. 

Sending Meara out on loan works for both sides, as the player can gain experience while NYCFC does not have to spend a ton on a first-choice goalkeeper. 

The 24-year-old did play in 18 games for the Red Bulls back in 2012. But he hasn't seen much action since, which could concern some fans during the first month or two of the regular season. 

Defense 

In the process of shaping his back four, Kreis called upon two players he is extremely familiar with from his days at Real Salt Lake. 

Kwame Watson-Siriboe was acquired in a trade with RSL over the summer, while Chris Wingert was obtained in the expansion draft. 

Rounding out the current defensive unit are Josh Williams, Jeb Brovsky, George John and Jason Hernandez. On paper, the six players may not form a formidable unit, but there is a foundation being built at the position.

The one guarantee we can make right now about the NYCFC defense is Wingert will be the starting left-back when March rolls around. The 32-year-old has been one of the most consistent full-backs in the league over the last seven years with Real Salt Lake. 

The other three starting positions are still up in the air, but we could see some of the players listed above in the franchise's first starting lineup.

Watson-Siriboe, Williams, Hernandez and John are all natural center-backs, but Williams has been utilized at both full-back positions during his career. 

When healthy, John could become the team's best option at center-back. But he did not play in 2014 due to a right knee injury for which he underwent surgery on in July. 

Brovsky is the club's best right-back at the moment, and there is a high possibility he will be employed at that position to start the season. 

While the play at both full-back positions is not a concern, the performance of the center-backs is something to worry about at the moment. However, NYCFC will have to add more defenders throughout the offseason for depth so do not bank on some of the current players to start in the first match. 

Midfield

The big question hanging over the franchise at the moment is the status of Frank Lampard, who is currently out on loan at Manchester City. 

Director of football operations Claudio Reyna will be in Manchester this week to discuss the status of Lampard among other things, per Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated: 

Beyond Lampard, the midfield is filling out quite nicely so far for the young club. Ned Grabavoy, Mehdi Ballouchy and Tommy McNamara were added to the squad in the expansion draft along with Sal Zizzo, but Zizzo is rumored to be a part of the Meara loan deal. 

Before the expansion draft, Andrew Jacobson and Matt Dunn were the two midfielders not named Lampard on the roster. Jacobson, who has spent time at three different MLS clubs, was on loan at Stabaek in Norway this season. Dunn was acquired in the Chivas USA dispersal draft held in November. 

The key acquisition at the position is Grabavoy, who became one of the most reliable central midfielders in the league during his time at RSL. If Lampard does return in time for the MLS season, Grabavoy will most likely line up next to the English star. 

Jacobson is another reliable player to have in the squad, and he also brings with him the experience of playing with an expansion side. He was a part of Philadelphia's inaugural season in 2010. 

McNamara and Dunn are young prospects, who like Meara, have a ton of potential waiting to be unlocked by Kreis. How the two former Chivas USA players respond to Kreis will determine how big of a role they play in 2015. 

As for Ballouchy, his selection in the expansion draft was a bit odd considering he has played in 20 games over the last three seasons. How NYCFC utilizes him, if they hold on to him, will be interesting to say the least. 

Forward

The marquee name at the forward position is David Villa, who joined the club after a successful 2013-14 campaign with Atletico Madrid. 

Villa's potential strike partner was obtained Wednesday in the form of Patrick Mullins. The 22-year-old was seen as one of the top picks in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, but he dropped all the way to 11th where New England picked him up. 

In his lone season with the Revolution, Mullins impressed a good amount of people by scoring four goals in 21 games. He also played a major role in the equalizer scored by the Revolution in Sunday's MLS Cup Final. 

By joining NYCFC, Mullins gained a golden opportunity to study under Villa and become a better player for the long run. 

Tony Taylor was the other New England forward taken in Wednesday's expansion draft, but not many people know a lot about the 25-year-old. He does have a bit of European experience, as he played in Portugal and Cyprus before arriving in MLS. But he was not handed much playing time with the Revolution due to the success of Charlie Davies and Mullins. 

What NYCFC gets out of Taylor remains to be seen, but the club must love the potential of a Mullins-Villa partnership heading into 2015. 

Progress Report Grade: B- 

NYCFC made plenty of progress in the expansion draft with the acquisitions of Grabavoy and Mullins. But there still is plenty of work to be done for Kreis and Reyna to put a successful product out on the pitch in March. 

The defense still needs to be worked on, and the Lampard situation needs to be solved sooner rather than later. 

NYCFC also has a third designated-player spot open, which we can assume will be used given the wealth behind the club. 

The B- grade we issue here can certainly be improved upon during the offseason. We also trust that Kreis, who built RSL into what it is today, will use his eye for talent to bring in players who are sure to be successful at the club right away. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here