At the end of the 2014 season,

coach

said that the club would need to strike a balance between improving its roster over the offseason and maintaining consistency heading into next year.

The Timbers feel that they've done just that.

Portland announced four major signings Monday morning that addressed four separate positional needs. They followed their offseason plan to sign a goalkeeper, a central defender, a left back and a winger.

"We followed that plan to a tee," Porter said. "You saw those signings yesterday. We felt that, if you look at the season, we ended on a positive note. We wanted to keep the core intact."

Porter admitted that keeping the core of his squad intact will be difficult with Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft. The Timbers were allowed to protect just 11 players ahead of the draft and stand to lose up to two key contributors to expansion clubs Orlando City SC or New York FC.

Among the most desirable players that Portland decided to leave unprotected are left back Jorge Villafana, forward Gaston Fernandez and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

"It's a real challenge to only be able to protect 11 players because we've worked very hard, Gavin (Wilkinson) and myself, to build a squad with depth," Porter said. "We don't want to lose anyone, but you have to be smart, the best you can in putting out a list that will not leave yourself exposed."

Porter would not explain the decision making process behind choosing which 11 players to protect, but he said that the Timbers have put together a contingency plan to deal with any of their players getting drafted.

While losing Villafana would leave the Timbers without any depth at left back, they would still have one left back on the roster in Brazilian defender JeAnderson, who Portland announced it had signed Monday.

"We felt we needed another left-sided, left defender," Porter said. "An attacking player that could get forward, but also a player that could defend, someone that fits our system of play. Obviously, Jorge brings that. We knew we would be losing Michael Harrington, so we felt JeAnderson was a nice, young, talented left back."

Portland also appears to have a clear contingency plan if they lose Fernandez. The Timbers are still negotiating a contract with Fernandez, so even if the Argentine goes undrafted there is no guarantee that he will be returning to Portland.

If Fernandez does not return to the Timbers then forward Darlington Nagbe could move into the No. 10 position at the beginning of the season while playmaker Diego Valeri recovers from ACL surgery. If Nagbe moves into the No. 10 position, then winger Dairon Asprilla, who the Timbers announced that they had signed Monday, could move into Nagbe's spot on the right wing.

"We felt that with Asprilla, he's going to bring penetration," Porter said. "He can play as a winger and the way he plays as a winger is very direct, very aggressive. He looks to get behind you. He's very strong and athletic... He'll be a player that really causes problems for teams."

The Timbers also announced the signing of Ghanaian goalkeeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey on Monday, a strong indication that they no longer see Ricketts as their starting keeper. Porter would not comment on whether Kwarasey would be Portland's top keeper heading into 2015.

With the addition of Kwarasey, the Timbers now have four goalkeepers on their roster. Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said that the Timbers currently have a lot of depth at goalkeeper, but could potentially lose one of their keepers in Wednesday's expansion draft.

The Timbers also made the decision to prioritize their defense in their offseason moves.

Besides signing JeAnderson and Kwarasey, the Timbers also acquired center back Nat Borchers and bought Alvas Powell from Jamaican club Portmore United before signing him to a long-term contract.

"We felt in particular the defensive side of our team, even though we finished better in that regard, we still felt in evaluating the season that that was really the main area of concern," Porter said.

Porter said that the Timbers felt they needed to pick up a proven MLS center back like Borchers to play alongside designated player Liam Ridgewell next season. The Timbers are hoping to significantly improve on a 2014 season where they gave up a disappointing 52 goals.

"We felt that the best route would be to add an MLS-proven central defender," Porter said. "We feel like getting a guy like Nat Borchers, who has really been in the MLS trenches for a lot of years and who knows how to win and has been in a club that has consistently been at the top and made the playoffs, we felt that he would be a tremendous addition, not only on the field with his experience and the things that he brings playing-wise, but in our locker room as well."

Powell ended the season as the Timbers starting right back and reportedly started to garner interest from clubs in Europe, making it necessary for the Timbers to buy Powell and lock him into a contract.

The Timbers believe that the 20-year-old Powell is still maturing and see him as a player that could be one of the top right backs in MLS in the future.

"Last year you saw a little bit of a roller coaster with his performances and a lot of maturity with increased performances, the quality of performances at the end of the year," Wilkinson said. "We rate Alvas highly... It was extremely important to lock him up."

Here is the full audio from Porter and Wilkinson's conference call with the press Tuesday:

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-- Jamie Goldberg | @jamiebgoldberg