Jonathan Rodriguez is coming back. But can the Timbers afford to sit Antony?
Portland's top-goal scorer from 2024 is back. But is Antony playing too well to move to the bench?
With the close of MLS’ primary transfer window on the horizon, we’re still waiting to see if the Portland Timbers will upgrade their roster.
“Teams will continue to strengthen, and we need to make sure that we're in that mindset as well,” Manager Phil Neville said after Portland’s 3-1 win over Houston on March 30. “I think that's really important.”
The Timbers are unbeaten over their last four matches and have two weeks to decide if its current iteration is good enough to get the team at least to the summer transfer window in late July.
Whatever the answer, the Timbers are about to get better.
Forward Jonathan Rodriguez returned to training this week, marking the first appearance on the pitch for the 31-year-old designated player since leaving training camp with a knee injury. Rodriguez scored a club-high 16 goals for the Timbers last season and is a player who, before training camp began, had high expectations entering his second year.
“Jonathan Rodriguez will score 15 to 20 goals again,” Neville said in January. “It’s like me getting out of bed every morning, I always have a cup of tea. It’s almost like routine. He definitely is a goal scorer. He’s going to get the platform to score even more goals.”
With Evander’s 15 goals from 2024 gone and Rodriguez starting the year on the injured list, finding an offensive rhythm has been a challenge for this Timbers club so far. And while the team has scored six goals in its last three games, it’s also a group that scored just three in its first four matches of the season.
Yes, the club will be more than happy to infuse Rodriguez’s finishing form onto the roster. The tricky part for Neville will be figuring out how that works.
Antony might just be playing too well to take off the pitch.