Reggie Lambe, the Bermuda midfielder, was one of a dozen Toronto FC players whom the club kept contract options on for the 2014 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

Lambe’s campaign included 28 games played, with 20 starts. He also chipped in with an assist. He made 34 appearances and scored six goals in his debut MLS campaign in 2012.

Along with Lambe, the Canadian outfit also kept goalkeepers Joe Bendik, Chris Konopka and Quillan Roberts; defenders Gale Agbossoumonde, Mark Bloom and Ryan Ricther; midfielders Kyle Bekker and Jeremy Hall; forwards Bright Dike, Emery Welshman and Andrew Wiedeman.

The nine players already under contract include defenders Jonas Elmer, Ashtone Morgan, Doneil Henry, Richard Eckersley and Steven Caldwell and midfielders Matias Laba, Jonathan Osorio, Manuel Aparicio, and Alvaro Rey.

While the Bermudian will not have to find a new landing spot to continue his career, the same cannot be said for several players, most notably Robert Earnshaw, the former Notingham Forest, Norwich City and Wales forward. Earnshaw was Toronto’s leading scorer in his only season with the franchise.

Toronto also declined 2013 options on Bobby Convey, the former United States player, and midfielders Michael Thomas and Darel Russell, who started last season at Portsmouth during their relegation from League One in England before moving across the Atlantic. Forwards Danny Koevermans and Justin Braun and goalkeeper Stefan Frei remain out of contract.

The MLS side’s new leadership has expressed a desire to acquire a Designated Player at the striker position, leaving Earnshaw’s future in doubt.

They are rumoured to be in the running for Jermain Defoe, the England forward, who has been on the fringes for the past few seasons at Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League.

“We are writing a new story for TFC, and it begins with our current players,” Tim Bezbatchenko, the Toronto general manager, said in a statement. “We have not had a solid core group like this in a long time, and this core is prepared and excited about taking this club to the next level.

“We will continue discussing the possibility of returning next season with those players whose options were declined.”

Toronto finished the regular season in ninth place.