Midfield

The defensive midfielders will be Diego Chara and David Guzman. Chara is still getting fit after his injury and Guzman looked poor in preseason, but they’re still the best at their positions. Chara will win a lot of tackles, commit a lot of fouls, and have the same grin on his face. Guzman will take the set-pieces and help build the attack from the back. Cristhian Paredes will fill in when Guzman is at the World Cup, and Lawrence Olum provides further depth.

The Force of the Timbers’ attack runs through Diego Valeri. It surrounds him, it penetrates him, it binds the team together. Don’t expect the same incredible numbers he had last year, but he can be counted on for his usual 10 goals and 10 assists. There isn't much more to say. The dude is good.

Blanco and Polo will be on the wings, and don’t be surprised if they swap places pretty fluidly. They’ll be relied on to divert some attacking pressure off of Valeri. Given Valeri’s incredible season, some overlooked Blanco’s contribution as a quality DP signing in 2017. Given what we know about foreign DP signings, there’s every reason to believe his output will only improve in 2018.

I have Polo on the left, but he actually played best in preseason as a narrow right midfielder. The fact is, Polo is still a bit of a mystery. A TAM signing with large shoes to fill, it looks like Savarese still hasn’t found his best position – he played on both wings, up top, and even a bit in the center of midfield in preseason. It’s clear he’s a different style player from Nagbe, so may take some time for him and the team to adapt to different type of player out wide. Still, his talent is apparent so don’t get worried if it takes a couple months for him to fully adapt to MLS.

You can expect Asprilla to be the first man off the bench. He’ll run at people, jump high, and provide lots of energy. Victor Arboleda is even faster than Asprilla, and will hope to parlay his outstanding preseason into more substitute appearances than the five he earned last year. Jack Barmby will also hope to find minutes, but may be on the outside looking in.

Forwards

Armenteros has deservedly earned his Schillo Tschuma & Franck Songo’o Memorial Timbers’ Preseason MVP Award, but Adi is the proven product. His 42 goals and 44.3 xG since the 2015 season are both 4th in MLS, trailing only Bradley Wright-Phillips, David Villa, and Sebastian Giovinco. Not bad. The team made due without him last season, but if the Timbers want to return to MLS Cup they’ll need Adi to return to form. He’s made no secret of his desire to eventually move to a bigger league, but until then he’s earned the starting striker role.

Still, Armenteros looks like he may be the one of the best TAM signings in MLS this offseason. He’s proven himself in the Eredivie and has landed on his feet in Portland, so there’s every reason to expect he’ll contribute on day one, maybe even as a starter. Jeremy Ebobisse became a fan-favorite in only 370 minutes last year, but was very raw. He'll be starting striker for T2 and play in the Open Cup.

2018 PROGNOSIS

Portland begins the season with five difficult mostly cross-country away games, so if they revert to form and find themselves at the bottom of the table in April, don’t count them out. An easier back-end of the schedule could set them up nicely for another late push towards the playoffs.

Most teams in MLS have improved this offseason, the Timbers included. In 2017 they looked like an MLS Cup contender before a rash of injuries, and there’s reason to believe this team can get there again. If they struggle out of the gate and can’t recover, have a rash of injuries, or their veterans begin to show their age, Portland could easily see themselves end the season below the red line. But if Savarese proves he can coach at this level, the team’s veteran core stays healthy, and the new additions acclimate to MLS quickly, then this team has the talent to repeat as Western Conference champions and make another run to MLS Cup.