Making Moves - Portland Timbers Addition

With the MLS Cup in their trophy case, the Timbers aren't sitting idly by this offseason making three more big moves this week. Here's a rundown of who they brought in:

Zarek Valentin - Valentin, a former US Youth National Team member, was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. After parts of three seasons in MLS with Chivas USA and the Montreal Impact, Valentin moved overseas and spent three seasons with Bodø/Glimt of the Norwegian Tippeligaen. A versatile defender, Valentin provides additional depth along a back line that has already lost Jorge Villafaña, likely won't bring back Norberto Paparatto, and hasn't yet signed re-entry draft pick Jermaine Taylor. Valentin, who played for Timbers coach Caleb Porter at the University of Akron, may even be able to challenge Chris Klute for the starting left back spot.

Ned Grabavoy - A veteran of 12 MLS seasons, Grabavoy will help fill the void left by Will Johnson's departure, and brings a veteran presence to the Timbers midfield as well as their clubhouse. A two-time MLS Cup winner, Grabavoy joins Portland after spending 2015 with New York City FC. Grabavoy enjoyed his best statistical season with Real Salt Lake in 2013 when he had 5 goals and 5 assists in 32 appearances.

Jack McInerney - Despite scoring 38 regular season goals before his 24th birthday, Jack Mack can't seem to find a home. In less than two years he's gone from Philadelphia to Montreal to Columbus and now to the Timbers. A member of the U.S. Youth National Teams from 2008-2011, McInerney is the obvious replacement for the departed Maximiliano Urruti, and gives the Timbers another credible striking option to go alongside Fanendo Adi.

2016 MLS SuperDraft Results by Team - Rounds 1 and 2

For the purpose of this blog, we're not going to focus on who drafted who, but rather who ended up with who. Here's a quick look at the day's highlights with rounds 3 and 4 scheduled to take place on Tuesday:

*Philadelphia Union walk away with 3 picks in the top 6 grabbing Georgetown teammates Joshua Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry and Creighton midfielder Fabian Herbers.
*Chicago trades the number 1 pick in the draft to New York City FC, but walks away with USMNT hopeful Brandon Vincent at number 4.
*New York City FC ends up with number one overall pick, Jack Harrison.
*The LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City made no picks in the first two rounds. Columbus, Montreal and Philadelphia led all clubs with four picks today.
*Both New York clubs have made all of their picks.

Haiti and Panama Earn Final Copa América Berths

Haiti and Panama each won their respective play-in games on Friday to clinch the final spots in the 16-team field for the 2016 Copa América Centenario. Haiti defeated Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 while Panama upended Cuba 4-0. MLSers Kevan George (Columbus, Trinidad & Tobago), Joevin Jones (Chicago, Trinidad & Tobago) and Anibal Godoy (San Jose, Panama) all appeared for their respective teams while former FC Dallas Striker Blas Pérez scored his 38th international goal for Panama and former LA Galaxy keeper Jaime Penedo started in net for Panama and earned the shutout. Here's a look at all 16 teams that will be participating in this summer's tournament along with their rankings in the latest FIFA poll:

2. Argentina
5. Chile
6. Brazil
8. Colombia
11. Uruguay
13. Ecuador
23. Mexico
32. United States
37. Costa Rica
46. Paraguay
47. Peru
55. Jamaica
65. Panama
70. Bolivia
79. Haiti
83. Venezuela

Four Added to USMNT Camp

Following injuries to San Jose teammates Fatai Alashe and Marc Pelosi, the U.S. National Team added four more players to their January training camp roster: San Jose goalkeeper David Bingham, DC United defender Steve Birnbaum, Stanford's Brandon Vincent and former DC United midfielder Perry Kitchen (currently unattached).  Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about all four:

Bingham: Bingham led all American keepers in MLS with 12 shutouts in 2015 (finishing third overall), and was one of just four keepers in MLS to start all 34 regular season matches. In four seasons with the Quakes prior to 2015, Bingham had made just five regular season appearances.

Birnbaum: Birnbaum was a finalist for the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year Award, and followed up his rookie campaign with a solid second season with DC United. Birnbaum made his USMNT debut last January against Chile, his only CAP to date.

Kitchen: Perry Kitchen has been a workhorse for DC United starting at least 30 games in all five of his professional seasons. Kitchen also debuted with the National Team in 2015 earning his first CAP in a February friendly against Panama. Kitchen is currently not under contract with DC United and it remains to see where he'll suit up in 2016.

Vincent: Last, but not least, is Vincent, the least known of the four players added to Klinsmann's camp. Brandon Vincent was a part of Stanford's 2015 National Championship Squad that dismantled Clemson 4-0 in the College Cup Final. Accolades for the young defender include the 2015 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award, 2015 NSCAA First Team All-American, 2015 NSCAA All-Far West Region First Team, 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2015 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, 2015 All-Pac-12 First Team, 2015 Top Drawer Soccer Best XI First Team and 2015 College Soccer News First Team All-American. Vincent appeared in 80 games in his four years with Stanford, scoring six goals in both his junior and senior seasons.

Breaking down the USMNT January Camp Roster - Pros and Cons

Only three of 23 players on the roster for the U.S. Men's team's January camp currently don't hail from MLS clubs: Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart), Jordan Morris (Stanford) and Jermaine Jones (unattached). And of those three, Jones spent 2015 in MLS with the New England Revolution and Jordan Morris has been linked to the Seattle Sounders, so there's definitely a heavy MLS influence on the roster this go around. Ten players in camp have yet to earn their first senior national team appearances: Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact), Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps), Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Tchani (Columbus Crew), Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC) and Kiesewetter. Another seven players have fewer than 10 CAPs with the U.S.: Bill Hamid (DC United), Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew), and Morris. So other than the sextet of Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones, Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC) and Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), this is, by and large, an untested group. Which when you consider that we're in the early stages of World Cup Qualifying, that's probably what you want to see. Here's three picks I like, and three I don't:

GOOD:

1) Ethan Finlay - Finlay has tremendous pace and is coming off a career year with the Columbus Crew. Whether or not his high speed and hustle game translates to the international level remains to be seen, but he's a big reason the Crew made it to the MLS Cup Final in 2015.

Odds and Ends

Ridgwell to Debut this Weekend?

Portland Timbers center back Liam Ridgewell is on loan until February with English Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion, and may get his first action this weekend as Brighton takes on Hull City on Saturday morning. If he does, he'll have a chance to match up against former Chicago Fire striker Shaun Maloney who joined Hull City in August after spending just eight months in Chicago. Maloney has scored one goal since returning to England.

Copa América Centenario Playoffs

Today Panama City will play host to the final two play-in games for the Copa América Centenario. In the first match, Panama will take on Cuba, and in the second Trinidad and Tobago will play Haiti. Current MLSers Aníbal Godoy (Panama, San Jose), Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobago, Chicago), Kevan George (Trinidad and Tobago, Columbus), and Cordell Cato (Trinidad and Tobago, San Jose) will all be suiting up for the matches as well as a number of former/unsigned MLSers including Soni Mustivar (Haiti), Blas Pérez (Panama), Gabriel Torres (Panama) and Daneil Cyrus (Trinidad and Tobago). The actual tournament, which will be held in the United States, will begin in early June.

Making Moves

1. Jeff Larentowicz signs with LA Galaxy - The versatile veteran Larentowicz marks LA's second big addition (goalkeeper Dan Kennedy being the first) in an offseason in which they've watched two of their regulars (Omar Gonzalez and Juninho) depart for Liga MX. The Ginja Ninja will begin his 12th MLS season as one of only 30 field players with over 300 career appearances and he ranks 17th all-time among field players with 26,139 minutes played. Now 32, Larentowicz is coming off back-to-back six goal seasons for the Chicago Fire, but it remains to be seen where he'll fit into the mix with LA who almost certainly isn't done setting their roster for 2016.

2. Brad Davis traded to Sporting Kansas City - Only two players in MLS history have more assists than Brad Davis's 122. They are Landon Donovan (136) and Steve Ralston (135). And now, for the first time in over a decade, the Missouri native won't be suiting up as a member of the Houston Dynamo. Instead he returns "home" following a trade to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for draft picks. Davis, who has six double digit assist seasons in the past seven years, likely became expendable following Houston's recent deal with the Philadelphia Union that brought in both Cristian Maidana and Andrew Wenger. Now the former U.S. National Teamer and World Cup veteran finds himself on a deep and talented roster that is poised to make a deep Champions League run in 2016. In addition to trading for Davis, Sporting Kansas City has also brought in veterans Lawrence Olum and Justin Mapp, while returning almost their entire roster from 2015.

3. Simon Dawkins signs with San Jose Earthquakes - After spending the past three years in England playing for Aston Villa and Derby County, Simon Dawkins returns to MLS and the San Jose Earthquakes. The Tottenham Hotspur Academy alum was loaned to San Jose for the 2011 and 2012 seasons during which he scored 14 goals out of the midfield and helped the Quakes to the 2012 Supporters Shield. The Jamaican International, who just turned 28 last month, becomes the fourth designated player under contract with San Jose joining Chris Wondolowski, Innocent and Matías Pérez García, but speculation is the Quakes will use the additional cash the league provided to buy down García's DP contract. Dawkins now gives the Quakes yet another offensive weapon as the league's third weakest attack in 2015 continues to make big strides towards a hopefully stronger 2016.