The Portland Timbers continue to be one of the most active teams this offseason, swinging a pair of trades on Tuesday that netted them forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Milos Kocic from Toronto FC and the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Order from Chivas USA. To get those assets, the Timbers sent the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming SuperDraft, backup goalkeeper Joe Bendik and allocation money to TFC and either an international roster spot or a second-round pick in the 2013 SuperDraft to Chivas USA. As of right now, the Timbers do not have a second-round pick, but if they were to acquire one it would be sent to Chivas USA.
Toronto FC trade Ryan Johnson, Milos Kocic to Timbers for No. 3 SuperDraft pick
Timbers also move up to No. 2 in the Allocation Order after trade with Chivas USA.
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In addition to these moves, the Timbers have now acquired Will Johnson, Michael Harrington and the Homegrown Player rights to Bryan Gallego since the offseason officially began last week. They've also shipped out Kosuke Kimura and declined the options on numerous players, which basically guarantees a very different team will take the field under new head coach Caleb Porter than the one that finished the season under interim coach Gavin Wilkinson.
The acquisition of Johnson suggests Porter is at least working out alternatives to having Kris Boyd as his primary scoring threat. Johnson is coming off a season in which he scored seven goals and had five assists, the most combined points he’s had in a season since he scored 11 goals with two assists in 2009 with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Kocic will likely have a chance to compete with Donovan Ricketts for the starting goalkeeper position, although he’s mostly been a backup during his four MLS seasons. Kocic did start 27 games last year after Stefan Frei went down with injury, but went 5-16-6 with just three shutouts.
With the acquisition of the No. 2 spot in the allocation order, more additions would seem to be in the offing. While no player is currently in the pool for the Allocation Order, it would stand to reason that the Timbers have a sense one will be soon and that they’ve arranged with TFC to skip their spot.
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