Carlos Bocanegra's Return Could Be Good For the Portland Timbers

BBC Sport, a reputable news organization, is now reporting that Carlos Bocanegra has severed his ties with Rangers of Scotland and is a free agent. More than that, they make specific mention that the defender is "keen" to return to his home country to see out his career. All of this, as you can imagine, gets very interesting when you realize that the Portland Timbers own the second spot on MLS's allocation list.

That said, I don't necessarily see Bocanegra coming to Portland. While his presence would be nice to have as both a national team fan and as somebody who would like to see an even stronger defense, in the long run I don't see how it works out. Mikael Silvestre and David Horst are still expected to be back with the Timbers for the 2014 season. The club recently signed Pa Modou Kah and Rauwshan McKenzie as backup for the position, and the young Andrew Jean-Baptiste is really starting to come into his own. Bottom line? It's starting to get crowded. This is to say nothing of Futty Danso either...

However, Bocanegra's return does help the Timbers in another way. Regardless of who ultimately ends up with Bocanegra (provided it's not the Timbers), the Timbers will then move up to the top spot in allocation. If this Bocanegra deal happens quickly enough, it could leave the Timbers will a few weeks to shop that spot around or look for a potential alternative.

There's no telling what will happen during the transfer window. Bocanegra might not even return to MLS (it's all just hearsay and rumors still). However, if he does return, it leaves the Timbers with a lot of options looking into the latter half of the season. I don't know what they would do with that #1 spot, but I'm sure they've at least planned for what to do with it when they eventually move up.

What would you think of Bocanegra returning to MLS and possibly to Portland? What would you do with that #1 allocation spot if it was yours? Sell it or try and bring home another national teamer?