Obviously this kind of news will impact it. The Portland Timbers announced on Friday that forward José Adolfo Valencia will undergo surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee. Valencia is expected to miss six to 12 months.

Valencia was a Designated Player brought in this winter and will now go on the Timber’s injured reserve list for the year. A new agreement was put in place today between Portland and Valencia’s club Santa Fe. The new loan agreement terms do not require him to count as a Young Designated Player this season nor will he count as one of the team’s international players.

Valencia, who was originally acquired from Independiente Santa Fe on Dec. 15, will conduct his rehabilitation with the team in Portland.

Tough break for Portland here and for Valencia for that matter. There had been some chatter about whether or not he was going to be healthy enough to play this season. Obviously this news trumps that a good bit as he definitely will not be.

Portland hasn’t indicated whether or not they will go out and try to get another DP to replace Valencia this season. My bet is they will not. At least for them he will not count against the salary cap so they could at least try to get someone.

Portland and Vancouver have done well in preparing for their sophomore seasons. (Getty Images)

Yesterday I took a look at the 10 clubs from the Eastern Conference in how they’ve done so far this winter. Naturally right after the post was put up one of those clubs went out and signed a DP.

Today, we’ll look at the nine clubs from the Western Conference to see how they’ve been doing so far this winter.

Obviously all MLS sides will continue to make moves between now and the end of the MLS transfer window in April but this is merely a discussion and grade for what they’ve done so far. I’ll go back before the end of that window to re-grade these clubs. The transaction page at MLSSoccer.com was where the majority of the info seen on this post came from.

(Side note: I’m not including any Supplemental Draft picks in with any of the teams. Some players have already been let go by their clubs while some are still trying to make the teams. Once they have definitely signed we’ll discuss it more)

Chivas USA

Players In:

M Ryan Smith (11/21: trade from Sporting KC); D James Riley (11/23: from Seattle, via trade from Montreal); M Oswaldo Minda (12/21: SD Quito); M Miller Bolaños (1/11: LDU Quito); F Casey Townsend (1/12: SuperDraft); G Tim Melia (1/17: free); D John Valencia (1/24: Atlético Junior); M Marvin Iraheta (1/24: Cosmos Academy)

Players Out: F Justin Braun (11/23: trade to Montreal); M Gerson Mayen (11/23: trade to Montreal); D Zarek Valentin (11/23: expansion draft); MPaulo Nagamura (11/29: trade to Sporting KC); D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); F Chukwudi Chujindu (12/12: option declined); M Simon Elliott (12/12: out of contract); G Zach Thornton (12/12: option declined); D Mariano Trujillo (12/12: option declined); D Michael Umaña (1/2: free/Comunicaciones); F Marcos Mondaini (1/4: loan option declined); G Sergio Arias (1/4: loan option declined); F Víctor Estupiñán (1/4: option declined)

What is still needed: A big time goal scorer.

Thoughts: This continues to be one of the toughest clubs to figure out. They’ve lost a good deal of talent in guys like Justin Braun and Zarek Valentin. Yet they have brought in some intriguing additions in the form of Ryan Smith, Miller Bolanos and John Valencia. If Smith can return to the level of play we saw out of him in Kansas City, then this club has the potential to be a lot more interesting in 2012.

Grade: C

Colorado Rapids

Players In: D Hunter Freeman (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Houston); M Tony Cascio (1/12: SuperDraft); M Jaime Castrillón (1/25: free/Independiente Medellín)

Players Out: M Sanna Nyassi (11/23: expansion draft); D Mike Holody (11/30: option declined); DDanny Earls (11/30: option declined); D Miguel Comminges (11/30: option declined)

What is still needed: Depth in the midfield and up top.

Thoughts: Losing Nyassi is a bigger deal than some still make it out to be. He was a solid player for them and Montreal will love having a player that can do what he does. On the flip side I do like their additions, even if it is really only a couple of them. Freeman will add some quality to the defense while Castrillon will be called to do a lot in the midfield. I think if Oscar Pareja can make a couple more moves to fit his system, then this club will be fine.

Grade: C

FC Dallas

Players In: F Blas Pérez (1/3: free/Indios de Ciudad Juárez); D Hernán Pertúz (1/3: free/Independiente Medellín); D Matt Hedges(1/12: SuperDraft); D Carlos Rodríguez (1/20: Tauro FC)

Players Out: D Edson Edward (11/23: waived); DJeremy Hall (11/29: trade to Toronto); F Maykel Galindo (12/12: option declined); F Maicon Santos (12/12: option declined); M Marvin Chávez (12/16: trade to San Jose); M Jackson(1/18: loan to Cruzeiro)

What is still needed: A starting right-winger, depth up top

Thoughts: Some folks aren’t too high on what Dallas has done this winter but really they’ve put together a solid winter so far. Perez, Pertuz and Rodriguez will all contribute big minutes this season, as will rookie Hedges. Schellas Hyndman trimmed the fat from the poor moves made last year in the form of Hall, Galindo and Santos but also made some risky moves by trading Chavez and loaning Jackson. Fans were too happy about those last two but they should be happy with the fact that the salary cap space is there for them to make a couple solid moves this season.

Grade: B

LA Galaxy

Players In: D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chivas USA); D Chris Leitch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/San Jose); F Pat Noonan (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); M Marcelo Sarvas(12/13: free/Alajuelense); M Jose Villarreal(12/22: Home Grown); G Nick Noble (12/22: free/Ljungskile SK); D Tommy Meyer (1/12: SuperDraft); M Kenney Walker (1/12: SuperDraft); F Edson Buddle (2/1: free); M Kyle Nakazawa (2/1: trade from Philadelphia)

Players Out: D Gregg Berhalter (12/9: retired);G Donovan Ricketts (11/28: trade to Montreal); M Juninho (1/4: loan expired); G Jon Conway(1/10: retired); M/F Miguel López (1/10: loan expired); M Jovan Kirovski (1/23: retired); DDasan Robinson (1/27: retired); D Chris Leitch(1/31: retired); F Yuri Gorentzvaig (2/1: waived)

What is still needed: Center back depth and defensive midfield help

Thoughts: Losing Juninho is huge, losing Omar Gonzalez to injury is just as big. Both are the two biggest losses to this club but on the flip side they have done very well at addressing depth and shredding some fat. Having Buddle come back is huge but don’t sleep on that Nakazawa trade either, that was a nice quiet move by Bruce Arena that could end up being a big deal down the road.

Grade: B-

Portland Timbers

Players In: F José Adolfo Valencia (12/14: Independiente Santa Fe/Colombia); F Brent Richards (1/4: Home Grown); D Andrew Jean-Baptiste (1/12: SuperDraft); M Brendan King(1/12: SuperDraft); D Hanyer Mosquera (1/17: free); F Kris Boyd (1/30: free); M Charles Renken (1/31: waiver wire)

Players Out: D Kevin Goldthwaite (11/29: retired); F/M Ryan Pore (12/1; option declined); G Adin Brown (12/12: option declined); M Rodrigo López (12/12: option declined); M Peter Lowry (12/12: option declined); F Brian Umony(12/12: option declined); F Kenny Cooper (1/12: trade to New York)

What is still needed: Depth in the defense, additional help on the wings

Thoughts: The last two moves by the Timbers (Boyd, Renken) could end up being the best moves this winter by any club. Boyd is a natural goal scorer and if he can get to 10-15 goals this season, it will be a great addition by the Timbers. As for Renken, if he can get healthy it is a very good pickup for a player that had so much promise early on in his young career. The other DP signed this winter by the Timbers is still a toss up but if Valencia can get healthy and work out, then the Timbers have all the makings of being special in year two.

Grade: B+

Real Salt Lake

Players In: M Enzo Martinez (1/12: SuperDraft); D Diogo de Almeida (1/12: SuperDraft); M Sebastián Velásquez (1/12: SuperDraft);  D Leone Cruz (1/17: trade rights from Seattle)

Players Out: G Tim Melia (11/23: waived); M Collen Warner (11/23: expansion draft); D Robbie Russell (11/29: trade to D.C.); M Jean Alexandre (12/1: trade to San Jose); M Arturo Alvarez (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/Chivas USA); MAndy Williams (12/5: retired); D Nelson González (12/12: option declined); D Rauwshan McKenzie (12/12: option declined); M Blake Wagner (12/12: option declined); M Andy Rose(1/17: trade to Seattle)

What is still needed: Depth all over, particularly in the midfield and up top

Thoughts: It seems like they have lose more than they have gained but that is the price you pay when you are one of the deepest teams in MLS. Russell and Warner will end up being the toughest losses on the field. Williams will be the toughest loss in the locker room though. But they did get some youth in the draft and Martinez should be a steal for them, as he’ll get plenty of playing time in his rookie season.

Grade: C

San Jose Earthquakes

Players In: M Shea Salinas (11/30: trade from Vancouver); M Jean Alexandre (12/1: trade from RSL); M Marvin Chávez (12/16: trade from FC Dallas); D Víctor Bernárdez (12/21: free/Anderlecht); F Sam Garza (1/12: SuperDraft); M Jacob Hustedt (1/12: SuperDraft); G Chris Blais (1/12: SuperDraft);  F Sercan Güvenisik (1/26: Preußen Münster); M Tressor Moreno (2/2: free)

Players Out: D Bobby Burling (11/23: expansion draft); M Matt Luzunaris (12/1: waived); M/D Bobby Convey (12/2: trade to Sporting KC); D Chris Leitch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); MAndré Luiz (12/12: option declined); M Jacob Peterson (12/12: option declined); F Scott Sealy (12/12: option declined); G Andrew Weber (12/12: option declined)

What is still needed: Defensive help

Thoughts: A busy offseason for Frank Yallop but not a terrible one. A lot of iffy moves in the draft and in trades that could pan out and be better than I am thinking. If Moreno ends up being the #10 that the Quakes have been looking for then we could be looking at a sleeper team this season. Still a lot of ifs with that defense that worries me. I do think their additions on the wings will help Chris Wondolowski out in a big way. I think the grade will end up being higher, especially if they can work out a deal with Simon Dawkins to return.

Grade: C+

Seattle Sounders FC

Players In: G Michael Gspurning (12/7: free/Skoda Xanthi); D Marc Burch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/D.C. United); D Adam Johansson (12/29: free/Göteborg); M Christian Sivebaek (1/11: free/Midtjylland); D Andrew Duran (1/12: SuperDraft); F Babayele Sodade (1/12: SuperDraft); M Andy Rose (1/17: trade from Real Salt Lake); FCordell Cato (1/18: free/Defence Force FC);

Players Out: G Kasey Keller (11/2: retired); D James Riley (11/23: to Chivas USA, via expansion draft); D Tyson Wahl (11/23: trade to Montreal); GK Terry Boss (12/2: retired); D Taylor Graham(12/2, retired); F Nate Jaqua (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); F Pat Noonan (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); M Erik Friberg(12/12: transfer/Malmö)

What is still needed: Defensive depth, a healthy Steve Zakuani

Thoughts: It looked like this club was going to take a serious hit back at the end of 2011 but they have quietly and diligently made some good moves to help their cause out for what will be a busy 2012. I like the additions of Johansson, Siveback and Cato. And re-signing Mauro Rosales was absolutely huge. Still the biggest loss will certainly be Kasey Keller and his leadership. If Gspurning can be half of what Keller was to this club they will be fine.

Grade: B

Vancouver Whitecaps

Players In: M Bryce Alderson (11/17: Home Grown), D Lee Young-Pyo (12/7: free); M/F Lee Nguyen(12/15: weighted lottery); M Matt Watson(12/16: free/Carolina); D Martín Bonjour (1/6: free: Rampla Juniors); F Darren Mattocks(1/12: SuperDraft); D Chris Estridge (1/12: SuperDraft); G Brad Knighton (1/17: Carolina);  M Jun Marques Davidson (1/19: free); F Sébastien Le Toux (1/30: trade from Philadelphia)

Players Out: D Jeb Brovsky (11/23: expansion draft); D Bilal Duckett (11/23: waived); M Nizar Khalfan (11/23: waived); M Alexandre Morfaw(11/23: waived); M Shea Salinas (11/30: trade to San Jose); D Greg Janicki (11/30: option declined); M Pete Vagenas (11/30: option declined); D Jonathan Leathers (11/30: option declined); G Jay Nolly (12/5: trade to Chicago); D Geinier García (1/17: trade to Montreal); FMustapha Jarju (1/21: contract terminated); MPhilippe Davies (1/21: option declined)

What is still needed: Defensive depth

Thoughts: Martin Rennie has brought in a fair amount of talent from his Carolina roster and will likely continue to do so. But you have to really like where this club is going offensively with Le Toux and the re-signing of Camilio. If Young-Pyo can turn into the game-changer in the back for the Caps, this could easily be a playoff team in 2012. There will certainly be some growing pains with this club, giving all the changes but you have to really like where they are going here.

Grade A-

Charles Renken is now a Timbers. (John Dorton/ISI)

It has been one of those days. First the Sebastien Le Toux trade now these two stories.

First up is former US youth phenom Charles Renken has been signed by the Portland Timbers. The Timbers got the youth star off of waivers somehow. Yes waivers. So far me and probably a half dozen other writers have been asking the how’s and why’s on Twitter but so far we got nothing as to how this was done.

My best guess – and stay with me here as it is a guess – is that someone had a claim to Renken and then waived that claim. Portland noticed said club had waived him and they decided to sign him. Seems simple and complex enough to work with how MLS operates. 

EDIT: According to Ives, all 18 other clubs passed on Renken, thus killing the need for a lottery or allocation draft for him. The whole waiver part is still confusing but that is where it stands. Eighteen clubs passed on Renken, one didn’t. Could be a clever gamble on the Timbers part.

Typically an American player coming to MLS for the first time does not come off waivers but through a lottery or allocation system. Renken really should have gone to a lottery like Lee Nguyen did a couple months ago.

Renken, 18, has been a member of U.S. youth national teams since 2005 and most recently participated in a camp with the U.S. U-23 National Team in Germany last fall. At the club level, he played for the U-19 team of German Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim during the 2010-11 season.

Hoffenheim apparently dropped him from their roster back in the fall without any fanfare.

Again, the kid should have not been coming in off waivers.

But I digress.

I like the move for Portland, if and only if, Renken is healthy again. The kid is coming off some injuries that has sort of derailed his rise to stardom. He’s had a fairly rough life as well and I really encourage you to read this bio from 2008 on him.

Still my wonder is how on earth did the Timbers make this happen. You normally see these sorts of bends to the rules for the Red Bulls and Galaxy.

Two big(ish) points of news on this Monday afternoon.

1. The Portland Timbers have signed their third DP, Scottish striker Kris Boyd. A big stinkin’ signing.

2. Faryd Mondragon has left Philadelphia to return to Colombia. Union now down to one keeper in Zac MacMath.

I’ll have more on these items tomorrow (or Wednesday). I’m hoping to do a team-by-team look at who’s done what this offseason.

Kenny Cooper is moving east to New York. (Getty Images)

The draft day is here and the trades are starting to come in. This one, thanks to Fox Soccer, says that the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls have struck a deal.

New York will acquire Portland Timbers forward Kenny Cooper. Separate Fox Soccer sources report the deal will send a 2013 first round draft pick and a large amount of allocation money to the Timbers.

With New York not picking until the latter part of the second round, the club had to make some deals to be active today. It is surprising to see them go out and get a striker like Cooper though with the likes of Juan Agudelo, Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers on the team. I think this puts a greater emphasis on the fact that Hans Backe has little-to-no faith in Agudelo here and he could be gone for most of the season anyways with the U23 team.

New York trading another first round pick shows just how little they care about the SuperDraft as well.

I’m a fan. I won’t say anything else about this because I can’t explain how badly I am looking forward to the day where all MLS clubs can do a Retro Day.

John Spencer could have few decisions to make about his protection list if his owner's words are true. (Getty Images)

This could easily be one of the easier draft lists that I do. Why? The Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said recently on Twitter that the Timbers and the Montreal Impact have an agreement in place for the Impact not to pick anyone from the Timbers roster.

The tweet has not been removed by Paulson, but the fact is that current Timbers midfielder Ryan Pore has been training with the Impact for the last month or so. Side deals like that probably happen more than we know in MLS. Its possible that Pore could just be selected in the draft as part of an agreement between the two sides.

Whatever the case, the list for them almost seems easy to make anyways.

To recap, I’ve already looked at Chivas USA, the New England Revolution, the San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Keep in mind the rules of the expansion draft, to read more about them click here.

Protected List: 

1. Diego Chara – Their DP midfielder and one of their internationals.

2. Jack Jewsbury – Captain Jack had probably his best season to date this year.

3. Kenny Cooper – Big contract guy but one that they’ll hold on to here.

4. Eric Brunner – One of their better defenders from this season. Plus, he’s fairly cheap.

5. Troy Perkins – Their main man between the sticks.

6. Rodney Wallace – A young, international for the club.

7. Lovel Palmer – The Jamaican came over from Houston in the middle of the season, I’d expect him to be a part of this club in 2012.

8. Kalif Alhassan – Another international player that will be protected.

9. Sal Zizzo – Cheap, solid and one that could be a big part of their club in 2012.

10. Mike Chabala – A John Spencer-guy, a decent defender who is also a fairly cheap one as well.

11. Mamadou Danso – At times he was a big target on set pieces for the Timbers in 2011.

Home Grown/Generation adidas players:

• Darlington Nagbe

Real Salt Lake could be a wild card team this post season. (Getty Images)

It seems as each season goes in Major League Soccer, the wild card positions in the playoffs seem to be the ones with the most to gain and the least to lose.

Just taking a gander at the teams who have won a MLS Cup over the last couple of seasons and it was easy to figure out why the wildcard spots are so valuable these days. Long gone are the days in MLS where a eight of the ten clubs make the playoffs, now days it is ten of 18. Big difference in quality and quantity.

Even with the odd structure of the new playoff system this season it still seems that a wild card stands to gain the most, even with a tougher schedule. We’ve talked a lot this season about how good the Western Conference is and how dicy the Eastern Conference can be.

At this point the playoffs look fairly even with five teams from each conference sitting in the playoff zone. Sadly though, the top five clubs in the standings are Western Conference teams, which means the Eastern side will possibly see another non-EC champion this year in the playoffs.

On the flip side for those Eastern Conference teams, four of those teams in the top five have busy schedules to close out the season, which means by the time the playoffs hit, they could be a bit gassed to make  deep run to MLS Cup. So let’s look at each club in the wildcard zone to see what their chances look like for the remainder of the year and into the playoffs should they make it.

I’m going to start in the West and work my way back East here.

Real Salt Lake (currently 4th in Western Conference)

RSL is the one team in the West that stands to possibly move up into the automatic bids if they can work their remaining schedule right. They had struggled for a few games but they did look better against Philadelphia and Chivas in their last two. Right now they are only four points back of Dallas for that third spot and you can tell this is a club that does not want to have to deal with an extra wild card game this season. Still, should they find themselves in the wildcard zone I view them as one of the most dangerous teams in that group. They’ll likely be the top one and end up in the Eastern Conference bracket. That’s a scary idea for teams like Columbus, Kansas City or Philadelphia.

Colorado Rapids (currently 5th in Western conference)

The Rapids are one of the four Western sides with CCL dates to deal with in the remaining part of the schedule. It seemed as I was saying they were dead in the water back in June or July is when they really hit their stride as a club. I still worry about their depth going late into the season with all the CCL games but it seems that Gary Smith has found a way to balance the two out. As long as the Rapids don’ slide too far down into the wild card area here, they stand to have a good shot at things.

Portland Timbers (currently 6th in Western Conference)

The Timbers sit just a point away from being in the wildcard mix. They’re currently tied with the New York Red Bulls but with only a few home games left on the season they have to find a way to win on the road. This Timbers squad certainly has some talent to cause issues in the playoffs. You also have to believe the league front office is hoping and praying to get them into the playoffs, especially if they can host a home game in the wildcard round. At the end of the day this club still seems like a long shot at best with their remaining schedule.

Chivas USA (currently 7th in Western Conference)

This is just one of those clubs you wonder about. They’re certainly good enough to reach the post season but their consistency remains a big issue here this season. If Robin Fraser can even get a tenth of the Juan Pablo Angel that we used to see in New York then the Goats could be fine here. This club does appear to be one of the ones that could end up getting on a roll real late in the season if everything lines up. Dan Kennedy has proven to be a top class keeper this season and he could help guide them in the playoffs.

Houston Dynamo (currently 3rd in Eastern Conference)

The Dynamo are listed here solely on the reason that they still have yet to win away from home this season. As long as they take care of business at home to finish out the season and pick up a win somewhere away from Robertson Stadium, this club will certainly make the post season. It comes down to whether or not it will be an automatic birth or a wildcard birth. This club is certainly talented to make a deep run if they can find success away from home.

Philadelphia Union (currently 4th in Eastern Conference)

The Union have taken a nose dive in recent weeks with their play and are starting to look like a team that is in their second year. The remaining schedule is pretty tough for this club as well. Freddy Adu, Sebastien Le Toux, Danny Mwanga and the rest of the team have to get on the same page here and the defense has to step up. What was a strong part of their club early on this season is starting to be very leaky. I really felt a couple months ago that this was a club that could make a deep run but now I’m not so sure. Getting a few games in a row where they look good will help get my feelings back on the good side with this club but they’ve looked a long way out from that recently.

New York Red Bulls (currently 5th in Eastern Conference)

Ah the Red Bulls. The one club that everyone is keeping an eye on right now. I will say one thing about them though, should they make the playoffs as a wild card team, they will be very tough to deal with. Why? All that talent has to eventually do something positive and for a short five-game span they could easily do it in the post season. This long layoff for the club will go a very long way in determining whether or not this Red Bull side reaches the post season or crashes out. I see them getting there but those last two or three games going into the post season will be key to show if this club is going to be a Cup contender like we all expected them to be or a club that crashes out in the first round again.

DC United (currently 6th in the Eastern Conference)

So much young talent with this club but really I feel they are a year away at this point. They could still sneak into the playoffs considering all the games-in-hand they have at the moment. Hard to believe it but they’ve actually played fewer games than RSL this season. I have reservations about whether or not this is a club that can pull off multiple wins in a row late in the year too.

Chicago Fire (currently 7th in the Eastern Conference)

Yes, a couple wins in a row and the Fire now sit just a few points shy of a playoff spot. Very weird how that works out but hey, give them credit for getting there. The last two months are always about momentum going into the playoffs and if the Fire keep this up they will certainly be a tough team to deal with. Their defense is coming together nicely and their offense is starting to take some serious shape. We know they draw a lot of games which means they are always in the game. What a story it would be if they made a run at things here too. Also, keep an eye on them in the US Open Cup final in Seattle next month. A win in that would mean huge things for this club going forward.