Report: Portland Timbers Sign Roy Miller, Get Shaquille Jiménez On Loan?

More and more players from C.D. Saprissa are being linked to the Portland Timbers this offseason. The side have already made the transfer of holding midfielder David Guzman official, but now a new report from nacion.com is backing up earlier rumors linking the Timbers to a move for La S center back Roy Miller and introducing a new name to the rumor mill in young Saprissa right back Shaquille Jiménez.

Coming from an interview with former D.C. United and Costa Rica Men’s National Team player, and current agent Kurt Morsink, the report lists Miller as “transferred” to the Timbers, while stating that Jiménez will be loaned to the Timbers as of February.

Miller, 32, is an experienced center back who has played previously in Major League soccer, having spent 2010 to 2015 with the New York Red Bulls where he was primarily deployed as a full back. With the Costa Rican Men’s National Team, for whom he has appeared more than fifty times, and with Saprissa, however, Miller has played in the center of the pitch. It seems likely that if the Timbers have brought in Miller for 2017 it is as a needed depth piece and not as the “starting quality” center back that Caleb Porter and Gavin Wilkinson have spoken of this offseason.

Jiménez, 20, is also likely a depth piece for the Timbers, giving the team a potential young prospect to back up Alvas Powell and Zarek Valentin at right back. A relative unknown, Jiménez has made only a handful of appearances with the Saprissa first team, making his debut in 2014 as an 18-year-old. Jiménez seems to be an attack-minded player, potentially capable of playing on the wing, but his lack of first team appearances with Saprissa makes him look more like a prospect for T2, rather than a first team signing.