Following initial tweets by Steven Goff, Jamie Goldberg’s source at the Oregonian/Oregon Live (presumably on the PDX side) tells her that the Portland Timbers are set to acquire goalkeeper Steve Clark (who led D.C. United to their only shutout win of 2018) from D.C. United. Clark was waived on Tuesday and Goldberg goes on to say that current starting keeper Jake Gleeson suffered an injury that will cause him to miss time for the next two months, so Clark and Jeff Attinella (in net for the Timbers’ 4-1 loss to the Black-and-Red) will vie for the starting spot in the interim.
Once Bill Hamid was acquired on loan from FC Midtjylland earlier this month, the writing was on the wall for Clark or David Ousted. As Clark’s contract is relatively inexpensive ($120,000) and expires this year, his contract became more viable to look for offers on, compared to Ousted’s ($350,000, expires at the end of 2019, with a team option for 2020).
While Clark’s waiver and subsequent claim allows for a senior roster spot to open (presumably for Hamid) along with cap room, given that Hamid’s salary was $350,000 in 2017, having two keepers make more than $700,000 would appear to make Clark’s salary look like tip money by comparison. Clark’s waiver puts the senior roster at the 20-man max, though there is room for flexibility in putting Taylor Kemp on the season-ending injured list in case a move presented itself, as it did last year when D.C. signed Clark as a free agent after the secondary window closed.
Nevertheless, while Bill Hamid continues to regain his form that earned him his much-desired European stint, we thank Steve Clark for his time and wish him well in the Rose City!