Portland Timbers 2024 Primary Transfer Window Review with Ned Grabavoy

High-profile departures and some high-profile additions. What does the Timbers' roster look like as the summer approaches?

The Primary Transfer Window closed on April 23rd, so it’s time to take a look at how the roster has changed over the past 6 months with some additional assessment from Timbers general manager Ned Grabavoy. 

The Departures

Sebastian Blanco

Free Agent- signed with San Lorenzo (ARG1)

After an excellent Portland Timbers career, Blanco returned to Argentina this offseason and signed for San Lorenzo. Since his return, he has not seen the pitch, but has been included in the matchday squad four times.

Yimmi Chara

Transfer to Junior FC (COL1)- undisclosed fee

Yimmi’s time in Portland was marked by inconsistency on the pitch despite his positive contributions to the community and the locker room. In December, the Timbers transferred him to Junior FC in Colombia for an undisclosed fee and opened a True DP slot. He has rediscovered his form in his home country, starting 11/13 matches in the league and tallying 4g/1a. The veteran winger has also started four games in Copa Libertadores. 

Bryan Acosta

Free Agent- signed with Gaziantep (TUR1)

Despite a solid spell with the Timbers to close 2023, Acosta was not re-signed to a new deal in the winter. He was signed by Gaziantep in Turkey but has been dealing with a groin injury. He has only made one appearance with his new club. 

Franck Boli

Released- signed with Atletico San Luis (MEX1)

Boli didn’t want to stay in Portland even after his option was picked up. Mexican side Atletico de San Luis signed him in early January, and put out an excellent announcement video.

https://twitter.com/AtletideSanLuis/status/1743083168175956381?t=Y5AcLqzsIyVCzXB9Q6p3fQ&s=19

In 2024, the Ivorian has 4g/2a in 11 appearances (7 starts). In his second-to-last match against Atlas, he scored in the 7th minute and then got sent off in the 53rd. He is the joint top scorer for his new team.

Noel Caliskan

Released- signed with Real Salt Lake (MLS)

Caliskan is a good player, but had trouble earning minutes in a strong midfield. After signing a senior contract early in his rookie season, Caliskan was often warming the bench behind Cristhian Paredes and Diego Chara. A new team was the best option for him to get the minutes he needed.

History is repeating itself at RSL, where Caliskan signed in the winter. He made his RSL debut against Miami in their season opener, but hasn’t played a single minute for the senior team since the 2-1 loss to Colorado on March 9th. He has been a regular starter for Real Monarchs, RSL’s MLS NEXTPRO side. 

Diego Gutierrez

Released- signed with Charleston Battery (USL)

Gutierrez was let go in the winter after an underwhelming Timbers tenure. The former SuperDraft pick from Creighton was signed by USL Championship side Charleston Battery. He has made 10 appearances (5 starts) but is still chasing his first goal involvement. He deserves our sympathies because there’s only one Olive Garden in the Charleston metro area. 

Justin Rasmussen

Released- signed with Oakland Roots (USL)

Rasmussen showed some flashes during his Timbers tenure, including two incredible goals. Unfortunately, one of those goals occurred during a pre-season friendly and the other came in the 4-3 US Open Cup loss to RSL last season. Sir Scores-A-Lot joined the Oakland Roots and has made 8 appearances (5 starts) and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 loss to Detroit City. He also played all 120 minutes in their Open Cup victory over El Farolito. It’s been a pretty good start for the former Grand Canyon University star, and he’s the only former Timber to say that he has beaten the burrito store.

Jaroslaw Niezgoda

Released- free agent

Out of all the players on this list, my heart hurts the most for Niezgoda. We all know the story: historically clinical striker gets hurt and can’t regain his former magic. Despite some positive growth in the middle of last season, his Timbers tenure ended on the pitch in Houston. He is still a free agent, but I would imagine that he gets signed once his knee heals. 

David Bingham

Free Agent- signed with Charlotte FC (MLS)

Bingham was out of contract at the end of 2023, and he signed with Charlotte FC in the offseason. He’s the backup goalkeeper in North Carolina, and hasn’t made a start for his new club yet.

Aljaz Ivacic

Waived- signed with New England Revolution (MLS)

Last season was a rapid fall from grace for the Slovenian. It seemed like nothing broke his way after winning Supporters’ Player of the Year in 2022. After getting suspended for the remainder of the regular season in September, it became clear that Ivacic would be departing the club before 2024 began. Instead, after failing to find a trade for him, Ivacic was waived in March and joined Caleb Porter’s New England team. He was in line for a start against Inter Miami in his first game, but a club-wide outbreak of norovirus sidelined him for a marquee matchup. Even with his new club, his bad luck continues. He did start last week against Chicago and recorded a clean sheet.

Hunter Sulte

Loan to Indy Eleven (USL)

One of two loanees for Portland this year, Sulte will be with Indy Eleven for the remainder of the season. So far, he has made three starts, conceded two goals, and kept one clean sheet.

Tega Ikoba

Loan to Indy Eleven (USL)

Ikoba will also be with his Timbers teammate in Indianapolis for the rest of 2024. He has made 7 appearances (4 starts) and scored one goal so far.

The Arrivals

Kamal Miller

Traded from Inter Miami for $625K ($755K) GAM, 1 international slot, sell-on %

It has been a pretty rough start for Miller in Portland. 9 starts and zero clean sheets is a less than illustrious beginning to his Timbers tenure. However, he has shown flashes of being the star defender that the Timbers were envisioning when they acquired him from Miami. I would like to shout-out the LAFC game in LA. Miller had an excellent performance in the first half before he unfortunately put the ball in his own net. Kamal has also been a victim of inconsistency. In those 9 games, he has had 3 different partners at center back and has played with 2 different goalkeepers and a large number of different midfield combinations in front of him. He was brought in to be the anchor of the defense, but it hasn’t fully come together yet. 

Maxime Crepeau

Free Agent- previously with LAFC

Like Miller, Crepeau has also had a pretty rough start. But he’s also been one of the team’s most valuable players. No, he still doesn’t have a clean sheet, but he has single-handedly kept the Timbers in games. In his first start against DC, Crepeau made several spectacular saves to keep the game tied. Same story against LAFC in LA. So far, his defining moment was his controversial red card against LAFC in Portland, but he has been a massive upgrade from both 2023 Timbers goalkeepers. He deserves a clean sheet. 

Grabavoy’s thoughts on Miller and Crepeau: “They’re two guys who know the league well. They’ve played in the league, they’ve been successful in the league. For them, there’s the component of settling and becoming an important player. They were brought here to give us a bit more experience. They’ve had some really good moments, and I also think they’ve struggled at times. As things go on, they’ll begin to take a bigger role in the group.”

James Pantemis

Free Agent- previously with CF Montreal

Isn’t it great when the Timbers have a quality backup goalkeeper? Pantemis started the first game of the season and impressed. Since then, he has made two more starts. He also had a rare substitute appearance after Crepeau got sent off against LAFC. I’ve spoken to him on multiple occasions and it seems like he’s settling in well. Not only does he do his part when called upon, he’s the offense’s biggest cheerleader on the bench. I’ve been very impressed with him so far.

Trey Muse

Free Agent- previously with Charleston Battery

Muse hasn’t made a first-team appearance yet, but he has started 5 games for T2 and has kept 2 clean sheets. He’s the third-choice goalkeeper, and he probably won’t see first-team minutes unless there are injuries, suspensions, or international duty. However, he has been solid for the second team. 

Jonathan Rodriguez

Transfer from Club America (MEX1)- $3M fee

I feel so bad for this man. I’m sorry, but I have to say it. Rodriguez has not won a game yet with Portland. He’s been here for seven games, and he has tallied 2 goals and 1 assist. Once again, squad inconsistency has played a massive role here. In the games he has started with Evander, the Timbers are 0-3-1. That’s actually a pretty good record given the level of competition and the horrific luck the Timbers have suffered. But Rodriguez has been a bright spot when he gets the ball. Unfortunately, in the past couple of games, he has missed a couple high-profile chances. There’s only one solution to that, and it’s to feed him the ball. Give him more chances so he can score more goals. This man deserves to celebrate a win with his new club. 

The GM’s thoughts on Rodriguez: “Jonathan has been a professional at a high level for a long time. He played here almost immediately after arriving with no training sessions and was immediately thrown into the group. At times, he’s shown his individual quality and the difference-making to pull a play off or score a goal. The goal against LAFC came from almost nothing. It was an individual effort. He has continued to find his way in the team. We’ve tried to use him in many different spots. He’s played with a lot of different players. For him and for us collectively it’s about figuring out how the parts work together. We’re going to continue to rely on Jonathan and we need him to play well. He has to be accounted for and he can free up spaces for other quality players that we have.” 

Looking Ahead

The Roster Profile

Before I go further, MLS has done something they have never done before. They have actually released a list of each club’s roster and how it is registered under the current roster rules. 

As you can see, the Timbers have 3 DPs and 3 U22 players registered. All seven of their international slots are occupied. Six players are on TAM (Araujo, Bravo, Chara, Kamal, Mosquera, and Zuparic). But the most important part of this roster profile is contract transparency. The MLSPA Salary Release will still occur later this month, but now all of the contract duration information is in one easy place. 

Contracts

The Timbers have seven players that are out of contract after 2024. Two of them (Mabiala and Chara) do not have option years. But the most public contract talks relate to Dairon Asprilla. Here’s what Ned Grabavoy had to say about the Colombian: 

“He’s not out of contract! That’s news to me! Dairon has been a very important player in Portland for a long time. He’s grown tremendously as a person and as a player. I was teammates with Dairon for a year and he’s really important for what we do. Players like that are invaluable in terms of knowing the culture and the amount of time they’ve been here. We’re really happy with Dairon and we plan on seeing Dairon in a Portland Timbers kit in the future.” 

Ned, I hate to be a stickler, but the official Roster Profile says that he is definitely out of contract. The GM’s response has told me two things: either he has already signed a contract extension or they are planning to pick up his option year. Either decision is fine by me. 

Roster Rule Changes?

The most interesting part of my conversation with the Timbers’ GM was about the new roster rules coming to MLS this summer. For those who are unaware, teams will have the option to choose between two different paths. The first path is the 3 True DP/3 U22 path, which I am going to call the “Centerpiece” path. If the “Centerpiece” path doesn’t appeal to teams, they can also go for the 2 True DP/4 U22/$2M GAM path, which I’m going to label as the “Development” path. Both options have their pros and cons, and I wanted to see what Grabavoy’s thoughts on these potentially league-shifting rules would mean for the Timbers. Here’s what he had to say about these proposed changes:

“As you go through the league, you don’t just build your roster through 6 months. It’s a collection of years and years and years and contracts that go into place. Even if the league does potentially come out with a new rule, and these look like pretty big ones in terms of giving more flexibility to teams with how they build, I think you’ll find a lot of teams may ultimately have to shift towards a model that gives them more ability to transition from where they are currently then just being able to say ‘We want to this, we want to do that.’ So there are some teams that are probably locked into that decision. I do think that we can make sense of a 2 DP and a 4 U22 model making sense for us but at the same time we will be open to a number of different things. I do think we’ve brought in some young players and if you look at the 4 or 5 younger guys that we’ve invested in, they have played important roles for us. And you look at players like Santi [Moreno] and others that have been here for 3 years and we don’t really see him as a ‘younger player.’ He’s given us some flexibility and some room within the [salary] cap but at the same time he’s playing a role for us every single game. He’s producing at a good level right now. We’ll continue to assess those things going forward but it will be interesting to see not just how Portland does it but how the league in general approaches potential restructure within the roster model.”

Since the U22 Initiative was launched in 2021, the Timbers have been one of the teams that have put the rule to great use. Grabavoy mentioned Santiago Moreno as a success story (he is 100% correct in that assessment). Portland has also signed Juan Mosquera, David Ayala, and Antony as U22 players since the inception of the rule. So it isn’t surprising to me that Grabavoy leaned towards the “Development” path in this quote. Personally, I believe that the “Development” path is the best way to go. 

The kicker for me is the $2M in GAM. That amount of allocation money can be used to buy down contracts and allow for teams to trade for proven MLS players. Given that the Timbers have been very successful with their U22 signings, it makes sense that they could add another player with that roster designation in the upcoming summer window. But, like Grabavoy said, the Timbers should keep their mind open to any possibility. Another DP could be a better summer addition than another talented prospect. It will be very interesting to see how the Timbers approach the summer window.

Primary Transfer Window Grade: B

This window hasn’t been spectacular, but it has been solid. The three most important players (Crepeau, Miller, and Rodriguez) haven’t exactly hit the ground running, but they have been able to contribute so far. It’s a long season, and trophies aren’t won in May. But the most important goal of this window has been achieved: the Timbers have gotten stronger. Now the strength of the roster has to translate to the pitch. Here’s what Grabavoy said about the Timbers’ start to 2024:

“I still believe that there are some moments and stretches in games that we’ve played very well. We’ve played toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the league. I believe that the performance and the result from this past weekend [Charlotte] was not up to par with some of the other performances that we’ve had and that leaves a disappointing taste in our mouths coming off of a long and really difficult stretch, what we believe to be the most difficult stretch of the season. But you get to a point where you have a certain number of games and you have to have results at some points as well. The balance of wanting to see good performances versus what does it equal in points does become a conversation point. For us, the games in which we’ve played well or well enough we haven’t found a moment or way to win a few of those games. They’re not all going to go your way but we’ve been in a number of games where we’ve had the opportunity to win one or two more games and have an extra 3 or 4 points which could be a big difference for us right now. And like this past weekend, as I said and everyone else here would agree, when you have a performance that’s that poor and you don’t get a result those things add up to equal where we’re at in the table. I think we’ve got to stay patient but at the same time we have to find a way to turn some of those performances into results as well.”

It is no secret that the Timbers have been involved in several close games throughout this season. I agree with Grabavoy’s assessment here, and the Timbers do deserve to be where they’re at in the table. With the hardest stretch of the season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the Timbers to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with. In order to do so, the high-profile additions in the winter will have to step up and take control of this team. All of them have the ability to do it, now it’s just a matter of actually following through.