The Portland Timbers wrapped up the regular season last year as the eighth seed in the MLS Western Conference playoffs. That forced them to play in the Wild Card Round as they hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps in a single playoff game.
The winner goes on, and the loser is done. Unfortunately for the Timbers, they lost at home in the Wild Card match and watched the eight other teams in the postseason duke it out.
Portland enters the weekend as the sixth-best team in the MLS Western Conference. The Timbers knew losing Evander would hurt the offense, but they needed help on defense, too.
Wrapping up the window and the focus shifts to the weekend 📺⤵️
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 22, 2025
What players got moved in the past week involving the Portland Timbers?
Tylor Algor, staff writer for the Oregonian, wrote this week that "the Timbers have gotten dangerous."
Their head coach Phil Neville has been able to find the missing piece since Evander was traded to FC Cincinnati during the winter. Their former All-Star scorer made them pay in their last game as the Timbers lost 3-2 against Evander's new team.
Matias Rojas
The 29-year-old athlete may look familiar to MLS fans as Rojas was with Inter Miami last year. He recorded three goals and nine assists during 20 appearances with Miami 2024.
"He’s going to be a threat on set plays all around the box, and that’s something we’ve missed since Evander left," said Neville. "He possesses the same types of qualities, the same types of profile. [Rojas] Can play off that right-hand side, can play in the central midfield, can play as a No. 10."
Rojas joins the Timbers from the Argetina-based soccer team, Club Atlético River Plate. With eight games left to Portland's regular season schedule, they have a chance to leapfrog the Seattle Sounders and LAFC.
Felipe Carballo
Newly acquired midfielder Carballo joined the Portland Timbers on loan from Grêmio. The 28-year-old native of Uruguay was a major contributor last year for the New York Red Bulls in the playoffs.
That type of experience made Carballo a coveted player to add to the Timbers. He also appeared in last year's MLS Cup Finals against the LA Galaxy.
Kristoffer Velde
Another international talent like Velde further makes the Timbers dangerous come playoff time. The Norwegian winger signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Portland that includes a transfer fee of $5 million.
Velde has scored four goals in 21 games with the Greek professional soccer club, Olympiacos. Nicknamed 'Veldinho,' the soon-to-be 26-year-old can help fill the void of Evander for the long haul.
The Timbers can begin making a climb up the MLS Western Conference standings on Saturday. They travel to Southern California to play first-place San Diego FC.
Portland still has another game against the Whitecaps and Minnesota United FC, as well as the Sounders. The Timbers will close out the regular season when they host San Diego with playoff seeding potentially in the balance.