2025 Portland Timbers Primary Transfer Window Review

Is this Portland's best winter window in their MLS history?

The Portland Timbers are beginning the month of May in second place in the Western Conference. Some may be surprised by that. But the Timbers are winning games, they’re doing it early in the season, and it’s occurring right after the most turbulent offseason in recent history. Let’s take a look back at Portland’s winter transfer business after the window closed last week.

Departures

Tega Ikoba- Contract Option Declined

The 6’3” homegrown striker (who is only 21 years old) was correctly released at the end of last season after an underwhelming Timbers tenure. The highlight was his only MLS goal in Atlanta in early March 2023. During the offseason, he signed for FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXTPRO. He scored his first Cincy 2 goal against NYCFC II on April 9th, and it’s his only goal in 6 matches so far.

Grade: A

Marvin Loria- Contract Option Declined

After an injury-plagued contract year, Loria’s departure didn’t surprise anyone. I’ll never forget the 2021 Western Conference Final against RSL; by far his best performance in a Timbers shirt. The Costa Rican winger signed for Saprissa in his native country and has 4g/1a in 11 matches.

Grade: A

Mason Toye- Contract Option Declined

Initially, I was hopeful about Portland’s prospects of bringing Toye back for another season at a cheaper price. However, the American striker (who has been to the Oregon Coast) signed with SKC in the offseason as a free agent. Initially, he was the 3rd striker on the depth chart behind Alan Pulido and Willy Agada. SKC decided to change their DP striker, and Pulido returned to Mexico while Dejan Joveljic arrived for $4M. Toye remained third on the striker depth chart. In the final days of the transfer window, SKC continued to shuffle their striker corps. Agada was traded to RSL and Santiago Munoz was brought in on loan from Santos Laguna. As of publishing, Toye remains third on the striker depth chart. That’s an unfortunate series of events for a player that always gives maximum effort whenever he’s on the pitch.

Grade: Give Him Some Goddamn Playing Time

Eryk Williamson- Traded to Charlotte FC for $100K GAM with $250K conditional GAM and a sell-on percentage

Williamson was a fan favorite in Portland, and I always wonder what would’ve happened if he didn’t tear his ACL in Seattle in 2020. After a long recovery, he returned to the field and had a solid 2022 season. Unfortunately, he tore his other ACL in the beginning of 2023. I’m always going to remember his goal against Colorado upon his return from his second ACL tear. With one year left on his contract and a high cap hit, it seemed like the right move to trade him. He reunited with former Timbers interim head coach Miles Joseph in Charlotte, in addition to former teammates Bill Tuiloma and Dave Bingham. He started the season opener in Seattle and hasn’t made another start since, although he has made 8 appearances from the bench. An injury to starting attacking midfielder Pep Biel might clear the way for more Williamson minutes in the coming weeks.

Grade: B+

Evander: Transferred to FC Cincinnati for $12M and a sell-on percentage

Way too many words have been written about Evander since the calendar switched to 2025. So I’m going to keep it brief. I’ve begun calling the 5-0 Wild Card loss to Vancouver the “Evander Legacy Game.” I don’t think I need to elaborate on that. Meanwhile, the Brazilian has tallied 8g/2a in 12 games for his new club (6g/1a in MLS play). He currently has the highest goals scored-non-penalty xG differential in the league at +4.5. That’s probably due to a majority of his goals coming from deflections. I’m sure that’s sustainable.

Grade: A- (A few million more would’ve been nice but I understand the circumstances)

Loans

Hunter Sulte- Indy Eleven

For the second consecutive season, the 6’7” academy goalkeeper has been loaned out in search of more game time. Last season, he kept 9 clean sheets in 34 league matches. He has started all 5 league games for Indy in 2025, but hasn’t kept a clean sheet yet. However, in this past weekend’s Jagermeister Cup game against Madison, Sulte recorded a shutout.

Grade: Loan (fine, I’ll give it an A, it was absolutely the right move to loan Sulte out again)

Arrivals

Ariel Lassiter-Free Agent

Lassiter has two notable contributions in a Timbers shirt: putting a shot wide right after Paredes was decked in the box against the Galaxy and nearly providing a match-winning assist from a corner kick against Austin. So far, he has appeared in 7 games (2 starts) and doesn’t have a goal involvement. However, Lassiter was brought in because of his familiarity with Phil Neville from his days at Inter Miami and to be a squad option in the attack. Sure, there’s been more bad than good, but I didn’t have high expectations for him when the signing was confirmed.

Grade: D+

Joao Ortiz- Transferred from Independiente del Valle (ECU1) for a reported fee of $1.5M

I was very excited about Ortiz’s arrival but it became clear that he needed some time to adapt. Since the Timbers switched back to their preferred 4-2-3-1, he has made two quality starts in Austin and Carson. There are positive signs so far, and I hope he gets a good run of games during a busy May.

Grade: C+ (so far)

Kevin Kelsy- Transferred from Shaktar Donetsk (UKR1) for a fee of $6M

Earlier, I mentioned that Evander has the highest xG differential in the league. Kelsy is second in that category with a mark of +2.9. His last three goals have come from a combined xG of 0.22. Is that sustainable? Well, his first goal in Timbers colors came from him getting on the end of a Jimer Fory cross in Colorado. That routine (and repeatable) goal had an xG value of 0.67.

Those four goals have come in 10 matches (4 starts). Some pundits have talked about the Venezuelan in terms of his ability to win a playoff game. He’s 20 years old. Calm down. As one of Portland’s U22 Initiative players, he has the opportunity to compete for minutes with Felipe Mora. It’s worth noting that Portland’s other U22 Initiative players (Santiago Moreno, David Ayala, and Antony) have all been on the team for multiple seasons. This is Kelsy’s first, and his early goal return has been excellent. As he continues to train and build chemistry with the other attackers, more repeatable goals will follow.

Grade: B

Ian Smith- First-Round MLS SuperDraft Pick from the University of Denver

Neville raved about Smith throughout preseason, and the rookie’s Man of the Match performance against Austin (in his first start, mind you) is one of my personal highlights of the year. However, as the roster gets healthier, he hasn’t made an appearance in the matchday squad since April 13th in Kansas City. He started as a left back in that game (not left center back, like he did against Austin) and was subbed off at halftime after a performance that I’d describe as a reality check. That’s no knock against him in the slightest. It’s a huge leap from college soccer to MLS. I expect him to get plenty of playing time with T2 and some minutes in the upcoming Open Cup game against Tacoma. I’d also like to see him utilized as a left-sided center back in a back four with T2. I think he can be a solid backup for Kamal Miller. Of course, it will take some time to learn the new position, but it could be a big net positive for the Timbers.

Grade: A

Jimer Fory- Transferred from Independiente Medellin (COL1) for a reported fee of $1.5M

When Ortiz was signed, he quickly became “my guy.” Then news of the Fory transfer hit social media on a Thursday night, and I immediately claimed him as another one of “my guys.” When I went on Soccerwise to preview Portland’s season, I made sure to mention Fory when David Gass was going through the incoming players.

Through 10 games, I have been vindicated. Aside from a penchant for yellow cards, the Colombian left back has been a transformative signing. The Timbers desperately needed a player with his profile at fullback, and Grabavoy found the perfect fit. During his press conference last week, Grabavoy noted that it seemed like Fory had been on this team “for years.” He has fully supplanted Claudio Bravo, who is one of the league’s top left backs on his day. Aside from Da Costa, Fory is the only new signing who has to start every game.

Grade: A (would be A+ without the yellow cards)

David Da Costa- Transferred from RC Lens (FRA1) for a reported fee of $6M

It gives me no pleasure to report the following.

Upon learning that Da Costa was Portland’s chief target to replace Evander, I fell into the trap of assuming that it would be a true like-for-like replacement. Then I watched the film, and had some takeaways.

Through 10 games, these takeaways are ringing true. The goal involvements are not important. Da Costa facilitates Portland’s attack in a selfless manner. I’d like to draw attention to the “press-resistant” note. He currently leads the league in progressive carries, ahead of Denis Bouanga and Gabriel Pec. Really quickly, do you want to know how many progressive carries Evander had in the ENTIRETY of 2024? 69 (nice). Da Costa has FIFTY-EIGHT through 10 games. The Timbers have arguably become even MORE dynamic on the ball because of Da Costa. He isn’t in the Evander mold; he’s in the Riqui Puig mold of ball-progressor extraordinaire. The goal involvements will come. The early signs are very encouraging. I credit the coaching staff and front office with helping him settle so quickly. That was another big concern of mine. No problems there.

Grade: B+ (Waiter! Waiter! More goal involvements please! Yes, I’m going to be contradictory. But seriously, what else did you expect?)

Omir Fernandez- Traded from Colorado for $200K GAM with $50K conditional GAM

Fernandez made his Timbers debut last weekend in LA and nearly tallied an assist. It’s far too early to give a grade here, but I will grade the acquisition. Grabavoy deserves credit for identifying Portland’s chief need (at the current point in the season) and solving it before the window closed. He did it by bringing in a MLS veteran (who is only 26, mind you) on a cut-price deal from a conference rival.

Grade: B+ for the trade, N/A for the production

Notes From Ned

There are two major off-field pieces of news from Ned Grabavoy’s press conference. The first is the status of Miguel Araujo. Grabavoy said that the club and the player are “in the process of mutually agreeing for Miguel to move on and take a new sporting opportunity.” That is a really fancy way of saying that Araujo will not be on the team anymore. Given his cap hit, production, and roster status (he still doesn’t have a Green Card and can’t be registered due to Portland’s lack of an open international slot) this is the right move.

Number two is a potential contract extension for David Ayala. “We have begun some of those discussions,” Grabavoy said on Friday. That’s good news.

Overall Window Grade: A

This could be an A, or even an A+ given that many of the new players have boosted the Timbers to second place in the Western Conference. Most criticisms of the new additions boil down to nit-picks. If you have to stretch to find bad things to say about a player, it usually means that the player is good. This is Portland’s most impactful winter transfer window since 2020, when Yimmi Chara, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Felipe Mora, and Dario Zuparic joined the club. By the end of the season, it might be their most impactful winter window in their MLS history.

A Look Ahead

The last bit of interesting info from Grabavoy regarded the sale of Evander. I asked him about the roster flexibility entering the summer window, and he responded with a rather surprising revelation: the Timbers only took $1.5M of the potential $3M GAM from Evander’s sale.

Grabavoy says that the team has the flexibility to “bring in a top player” and potentially add another player. However, in order for that to happen, the Timbers would need to open up another senior roster spot. It is worth noting that 3 of Portland’s supplemental roster slots are open. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what could happen in the summer.

Disclaimer: it is way too early to speculate, but it is also very fun to think about options. I think some of the summer business will revolve around Ayala’s potential contract extension. If both sides are able to come to an agreement, Ayala’s raise could make him ineligible to be listed as a U22 Initiative player. Per the league rules:

The Maximum Salary Budget Charge (which I’ve previously referred to as the “senior max,” but am now abbreviating to MSBC) in 2025 is $743,750. If Ayala’s new extension rises above that number (and it could, he’s currently making $400K and a raise of that size might not be too steep given his form over the past two seasons) it could open up a Special Roster Slot (SRS, or a DP/U22). Keep in mind, we’re still dealing in hypotheticals. But the Timbers could potentially add a 3rd DP in the summer. Here’s where the math gets tricky.

During this press conference, Grabavoy said that the Timbers had about $1.65M GAM available. The first public GAM release was published back in mid-December. Here’s what the Timbers began the offseason with.

By the time that the roster profiles were released on March 3rd, the Timbers had $1.05M GAM. Between early March and the beginning of May, the Timbers gained about $600K GAM. It’s very hard to speculate on all of Portland’s cap math (especially with so many incoming players with unknown salaries) but there’s a chance that the Timbers used all of the Roster Model GAM during the winter. However, because they still have a balance of $1.65M GAM, they could’ve put the Evander GAM to work and kept the Roster Model GAM as a reserve. I am not an accountant. But the ability to sign a DP in the summer is a possibility. However, there is one question remaining in this hypothetical: should they sign a new DP?

Other players can be bought down off of U22 status even if Ayala’s hypothetical contract extension doesn’t raise his budget charge above $743,750. But I don’t think another DP is needed right now. If one of those U22 slots is opened, why not sign another U22 player? It gets absolutely no publicity (shocker), but Portland’s track record with their U22 Initiative signings is the best in MLS. Santiago Moreno, David Ayala, Juan Mosquera, Antony, and Kevin Kelsy have all become key contributors. If the U22 train is working, why try to swing for the fences on a DP? In addition to that prior point, a DP would constrain Portland’s salary cap and potentially hamstring their ability to add a second player in the summer aside from a DP. Of course, there will have to be an outgoing player for any senior roster slot to open. But is it worth muddying up Portland’s salary cap (which features 2 DPs, 7 TAM players ((6 once Araujo departs)) and 4 U22s) to swing for the fences when there is already a lot of cap space committed to all positions on the team?

I’d actually like to hear from y’all in the comments. If the Timbers were going to sign a DP, which position do you think they should be targeting for that spot? I don’t really see one at this moment (the closest I can think of is center back, by the way, but I don’t think a DP CB is necessary right now given Kamal Miller and Finn Surman’s performances this year).

However, Grabavoy mentioned in this press conference that the Timbers could add “one top-quality starting-level player” in the summer. That language screams “DP.” As the general manager, Grabavoy has to consider every possible option he has at his disposal. If a deal for the right player potentially becomes available, I think he’ll act on it.

Final Whistle

Portland’s winter transfer window featured 6 incoming players and their record sale. They spent $3M more than they received. That’s an impressively low net spend for all the additions that they made. In total, the Timbers spent $15M on new players (not counting GAM). In addition, they traded an international slot and brought in a new player with allocation money received from that trade. This window took a long time to spring into action. But once it did, the additions and departures all succeeded in their main goal: make the Timbers a better team.

The Timbers have been setting club records through the first 10 games of 2025. And, in a pleasant change of pace, they’ve been positive. The summer window begins on July 24th. As a busy May becomes a 3-match June, the demands for the summer window will begin to materialize. However, the Timbers’ roster is pretty built. Grabavoy, Neville, and the entire braintrust put serious work into this offseason and were able to strengthen the squad. Now it’s time for those players to continue to settle, train, and gel with their teammates on and off the pitch. The climb continues.