Seattle Sounders FC

Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and his family joined the ownership group for the Seattle Sounders, the club announced Tuesday.

"Ken Griffey Jr. is a name that requires no introduction, whether in Seattle or across the sports world, and we couldn't be more proud to welcome Ken and his family into our club," Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer said in a statement. "As a lifelong resident of this great city, bringing someone like Ken into Sounders FC holds a special significance to me, as he is truly a part of Seattle sports' heart and soul. We value the contributions that he will add as a partner in our club and welcome him and his family with open arms."

Griffey spent 13 of his 22 MLB seasons with Seattle, winning the 1997 American League MVP Award and emerging as one of the most beloved athletes in the city's history.

The Griffey family joined a robust leadership group that notably includes Ciara and Russell Wilson and Price Is Right host Drew Carey.

"This is a meaningful day for our entire family," Griffey said in a statement. "My wife Melissa and I said that we wanted to be a part of something special, not only for ourselves, but for our kids to be proud of, and this is it. We know how much this club means to Sounders fans, and for us, this comes back to the city where it all started for our family. We are joining a first-class organization, and we are so proud to give back to the city we love. To the Seattle Sounders community: we are inspired to become part of what you have created. Like you, we are excited to get behind our incredible team as the players prepare for this year's playoff run."

The Sounders have been among the most successful franchises in MLS, finishing second in the Western Conference in each of the last four seasons and regularly finish with among the highest attendance in the sport.

Griffey's joining the Sounders ownership group will further ingratiate himself with the Seattle community.

The MLS season has been suspended since March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which could lead to significant financial losses for its franchises.

"The losses at the team level in MLS will be astronomical. Hundreds of millions, billions, really big numbers," Seattle Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer said on Wednesday's episode of the Sounder At Heart podcast. "But the MLS ownership is solid and committed to the league and their teams long term. That is fantastic."

According to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN, the league could remain suspended through June 8.

The Sounders are one of the most valuable franchises in MLS at $405 million, with $47 million in revenue in 2019, per Chris Smith of Forbes. However, the team had only $1 million in operating income during the season.

Even with the infusion of money from 11 new investors last August, there is still a limited margin.

With a significant portion of the season potentially lost, each team will have minimal opportunities to generate revenue. But despite the problems, Hanauer has faith in MLS to survive the year.

"There's been lots of criticism of single entity structure—no promotion-relegation, salary cap—heard over the years," he explained. "But some of those principles are what will allow this league to survive and thrive coming out the other end."

Seattle has also taken care of its employees during the suspension. According to Pablo Maurer and Sam Stejskal of The Athletic, the team has not furloughed any staff and doesn't plan to, while only senior staff have taken pay cuts.

Clint Dempsey confirmed Tuesday he's medically cleared to play for the Seattle Sounders ahead of the 2017 Major League Soccer season, the New York Times' Matt Pentz reported. 

"I don't want to go that much into it," Dempsey said of the situation. "I'm cleared to play. I've taken the proper time out that I needed to be out for what was going on, and I'm feeling good now."

The Sounders announced in September the 33-year-old would miss the rest of the 2016 campaign after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. As a result, he missed the team's run to its first MLS Cup victory. Seattle beat Toronto FC on penalties in December.

Dempsey appeared in the Sounders' Feb. 4 preseason friendly with the Portland Timbers. He started and played 30 minutes before exiting.

Before Dempsey's diagnosis, the arrival of Nicolas Lodeiro helped alleviate some of the attacking burden on Dempsey. Lodeiro, who scored four goals and registered eight assists in 13 games, should be even better in his first full year with Seattle.

The Sounders will still need Dempsey to play a key role in their MLS title defense, though, so the fact he's cleared to resume match duty is a nice boost ahead of the club's season opener against the Houston Dynamo on March 4.

Seattle will have three more friendlies before then to allow Dempsey to ease back into his usual starting role.

TORONTO — The Seattle Sounders have lifted trophies before. 

The Sounders have also been at or near the top of the Major League Soccer totem pole since arriving in the league eight years ago. 

But there was always a void in the trophy case, at least until Saturday night. 

The Sounders were crowned MLS champions on a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Toronto FC at BMO Field after 120 minutes of scoreless play failed to decide anything. 

“It’s amazing," Sounders captain Osvaldo Alonso said in a champagne-soaked visitors locker room at BMO Field. "I’ve been here for a long time and I’ve longed for this moment. I’m very happy for the fans, the franchise." 

What makes the club's first MLS championship even more unbelievable is the steps, backward and forward, that were taken to get to the podium placed in the middle of the pitch on a cold December night on the shores of Lake Ontario. 

Seattle fired manager Sigi Schmid, who led the club to four U.S. Open Cups and a Supporters' Shield in 2014, in late July before handing Brian Schmetzer the reins on a temporary basis, which then turned into a permanent gig as manager. 

The past finals the Sounders experienced in other competitions prepared them for the day the franchise and the city have been waiting for since the club was reborn as an MLS franchise. 

"We’ve had experience with Open Cups and closing out Supporters Shield games, with what felt like a championship at home in 2014," midfielder Brad Evans said. "We put ourselves in a good position tonight. We played well enough to get into penalty kicks and at that point it’s a crapshoot." 

The Sounders were able to manhandle Toronto FC's forward pairing of Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore thanks to a matchup they knew played in their favor. 

“We knew our defense was up for the challenge," Evans said "The physical battle with Jozy is one that these guys relished." 

Although Toronto controlled the match from the outset, the center-back duo of Chad Marshall and Roman Torres held Giovinco and Altidore to a combined three shots on target over 120 minutes. 

The last attempt placed on target will go down in Sounders and MLS lore forever. Altidore's header appeared destined for the back-right part of the net until Frei lifted his left hand and swatted the ball off the line. 

“I just tried not to give up and see if there’s anything I can do," Frei said. "Try to keep my feet moving and leap and thankfully I was able to get to it." 

“It was one hell of a save," Altidore said. "At the end of the day, you have to pull off something special and we weren’t able to." 

At that point in the 108th minute, you sensed that somehow the Sounders would find a way to pull off the victory, despite being the first team in MLS history to go through an MLS Cup without a single shot on target. 

"I thought they dominated us to be honest," Seattle midfielder Cristian Roldan said. "And for us to stick to our game plan and fight through everything, it’s a characteristic of the team we have." 

Stefan Frei. Incredible. #MLSCup https://t.co/g544fbC0qs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 11, 2016

After fighting for 12 more minutes, the Sounders approached penalties with all of the momentum and confidence in the world on their side. 

“The momentum swings for me in my mind (on Frei's save)," Evans said. "That’s a world-class save. That’s a legendary save." 

Frei and Toronto FC goalkeeper Clint Irwin traded saves one round apart in penalties to force a sixth round. 

Toronto's luck ran out as Justin Morrow's spot kick struck the bottom portion of the crossbar in the middle of the goal. 

"As the goalkeeper, I have to say I’m not a big fan of PKs," Frei said. "Somehow you have to decide a game, but for me, football is a team sport and that’s the beauty of it. It sucks that it has to come down to an individual." 

Morrow's miss put Torres in the position to send a city and franchise into a rush of emotion never felt before. 

After Torres blasted his penalty into the top part of the goal, he rushed across the left side of the field surrounded by his teammates in the direction of the Sounders supporters in the upper deck. 

"I was very pleased for Roman, although he will tell you if you ask him that he was a forward when he was growing up," Schmetzer said. "We don’t know if we believe that story, but he swears he was a forward when he was growing up in Panama.”

The final penalty was much different than the one in Seattle's final training session before the championship match. 

“Roman actually missed a PK in training yesterday," Frei said. "I’m glad he missed that one and not the one today." 

The infusion of Torres back into the starting lineup combined with the acquisition of Nicolas Lodeiro and the breath of fresh air provided by Schmetzer allowed the Sounders to overcome any adversity they faced.

In many ways, Schmetzer is the perfect man to lead the Sounders. Schmetzer is a lifetime Sounder. Schmetzer played for the Sounders in the NASL from 1980-1983 and managed them in the USL from 2002-2008 before becoming an assistant to Schmid. 

Here's the moment! Roman Torres shoots @SoundersFC to their first #MLSCup! https://t.co/iDORGsF8bq

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 11, 2016

“I drafted him and I felt really guilty for a long time because I stopped him going to college," former Sounders boss Alan Hinton, who brought Schmetzer to Seattle, said. "I drafted him as a high school player and I stopped him from going to college for a lot of years, but I don’t feel bad anymore. I’m very happy because he went to the university of life and university of soccer." 

Schmetzer is a Seattle soccer lifer who got more out of the Sounders in four months than anyone expected him to. With the Sounders close to the Western Conference doormat, Schmetzer willed the club back to a playoff spot—and eventually to the title—without Clint Dempsey, who has been out of the lineup since August with an irregular heartbeat.

"I think the base was always there," Schmetzer said. "They found a way to win, a way to persevere in tough situations." 

Winning the 2016 MLS Cup isn't the conclusion of an eight-year journey, it's just another massive step in making the club as great as it can be. 

“I’m so happy I’m here because this is what we’ve always wanted Seattle to become," Hinton said. "To win in the eighth year of operation is marvelous. We’ve made the playoffs in every year. We’re the biggest club in Major League Soccer and we’re about to get bigger." 

   

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter; @JTansey90. 

One of the best moments of the 2016 Major League Soccer season came early in the playoffs. On October 30, the Seattle Sounders hosted FC Dallas in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals.

The squad from the Pacific Northwest won 3-0, continuing a remarkable resurgence after being left for dead midseason. It was the type of complete performance that has the Sounders on the brink of winning their first MLS Cup: solid defensively, organized in the midfield and opportunistic on the attack.

The second goal epitomized the new-look Sounders at their best. In the the 55th minute, rookie sensation Jordan Morris picked up a loose pass near midfield, then used his searing pace to sprint into the six-yard box. Rather than shoot, he calmly slid a cross to Uruguay international Nicolas Lodeiro, the midseason pickup who has been nothing short of spectacular, with eight goals and eight assists in 18 matches.

Lodeiro tapped the ball into the net, meeting Morris behind the goal to celebrate as fire shot up from two nearby pillars and nearly 40,000 supporters screamed.

For the long-suffering franchise, which boast the league's largest fanbase, it was quite a moment. The best part, however, came a few hours later. Major League Soccer loves some meme action, and the Sounders' social media staff posted an Instagram image of Lodeiro and Morris running at each other following the goal with the caption "When you spot your BFF across the room #ThisMoment."

The club's rabid fanbase began liking and commenting. "This is why it's the greatest game in the world," one commenter posted. "Yasssssssss," wrote another. Typical supporters stuff. One comment, however, stood out from the rest. It came from Cristian Roldan, second-year rising Sounders star, who posted, "That's not his bff."

Roldan and Morris—21 and 22 years old, respectively—were both enjoying breakout seasons and became best friends this year. It's no surprise that Roldan, jokingly we have to assume, took offense at someone else stepping on his turf. You've got to battle for your boys. No hard feelings, though. Two comments later, Morris responded, tagging his buddy and sending a heart emoji his way. Potential bestie crisis averted. All was well in Sounders world.

For Seattle, and for MLS, the burgeoning bromance between Roldan and Morris couldn't have come at a better time. The league is improving slowly every year, the quality on the field increasing, the television ratings ticking up and the money growing. But it lacks flair and struggles to find compelling narratives around its young players, especially its American ones.

@JmoSmooth13: "Did we just become best friends?@CristianRoldan: "YEP!"@JaneGPhoto strikes again #SEAvDAL #Sounders pic.twitter.com/JRBERfnmHW

— Alex Caulfield (@Alex_Caulfield) July 14, 2016

For an organization that caters to the millennial and youth demographics who are more interested in soccer than older generations, that's not great. David Villa, Frank Lampard and the rest of the aging Designated Player lot are fine and dandy, but MLS desperately needs young phenoms such as Morris and Roldan to succeed. The fact that they are enjoying themselves on and off the field, only too happy to share their friendship with a bit of social media savvy, adds to the appeal.

The Morris-Roldan bond is both unlikely and completely understandable. They are two young men with plenty of differences in how they grew up and developed as players, brought together by sport and shared professional experiences.

Morris, whose father is the Sounders' team doctor, shot to prominence in August 2014, when Jurgen Klinsmann called the then-Stanford star into a United States senior team camp after watching him during a pre-World Cup scrimmage. He returned to college for his sophomore and junior seasons while continuing to play for the Stars and Stripes, and then he chose to forgo his senior season to turn pro.

After flirting with and ultimately spurning Germany's Werder Bremen, Morris signed the richest homegrown player contract in MLS history to join the Sounders. He struggled initially during his rookie season, needing six games to score his first goal, but he grew stronger and more confident as the year progressed.

He continued to rely upon his exceptional pace but also added some necessary deception and vision to his game and aptly handled the increased offensive load he was asked to carry after Clint Dempsey went out with a heart ailment. Morris finished his first MLS regular season with 12 goals and four assists in 32 starts, winning the Rookie of the Year award.

Roldan's introduction to the American soccer community came much earlier, although few would recognize him today. As a child, he starred in an iconic Adidas commercial, picking up plastic bags that he turned into a soccer ball.

The son of Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants was a standout at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, California, winning the 2012-13 National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award after scoring 54 goals and tallying 31 assists in his senior season. He found his way to the University of Washington, where he led the Huskies to a Pac-12 title in 2013, playing as a central midfielder.

He fell down the draft board to the Sounders at No. 16 and had an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2015, appearing in 22 games but starting just 11 and earning a single assist.

Roldan was learning to play the professional game, first from former Mexico national-teamer Gonzalo Pineda and then from Ozzie Alonso, with whom he's partnered to great effect this season. 

"The kid is a sponge, and he works really hard," Sounders GM Garth Lagerway said, as per Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC. Roldan started 28 games in 2016—playing all but seven minutes of the team's final 19 regular-season matches—scoring four goals, getting three assists and providing stout and tactically smart defense. He hasn't missed a second in the playoffs, helping the Sounders concede just two tallies in five fixtures on their run to Saturday's final.

Since the summer, Lodeiro has been the team's best player, but the emergence of Morris and Roldan ranks just behind his arrival in terms of importance on the field. Off it, the dynamic duo are the stars, bantering back and forth with the easy jabs of kindred spirits. Back in August, Morris charmingly interrupted a Roldan interview about how good Morris was becoming by scoring in the background.

Two months later, Roldan tweeted a series of photos of Morris signing his jersey along with the comment, "They say your heroes [aren't] approachable."

They say your heroes arent approachable  #dreamcometrue @JmoSmooth13 pic.twitter.com/uvLB0YhYw9

— Cristian Roldan⚽ (@CristianRoldan) September 15, 2016

A couple of weeks after that, Roldan and Roman Torres attempted to get Morris dancing in the locker room following yet another victory. That the forward, who says he's so pigeon-toed that it's easier for him to hit a ball with the outside of his right foot than his left, has less than no rhythm wasn't the point. The fact they were having a good time and sharing it with the world—and letting the fans in too—was.

For the Morris and Roldan Show to work, the pair required a couple of factors to come together. Most importantly, the team had to start winning. It's a lot easier to be happy-go-lucky and smiling after a 2-0 victory than it is when you're sitting in last place midway through the season. Their divergent personalities—Morris, the staid and withdrawn straight-talker; Roldan, the more outgoing joker—play well off each other.

And they needed to be good individually. Both had strong seasons, finding their place in the starting lineup and finishing third and 24th respectively on MLSSoccer.com's annual 24 Under 24 countdown. It all came together, worked beautifully. And here they are, 90 minutes form hoisting MLS Cup, having given casual fans a reason to root for them.

In the least surprising development of the day, Cristian Roldan will be watching #TORvMTL with Jordan at the Morris household

— Matt Pentz (@mattpentz) November 30, 2016

For MLS at large, this model indicates a way forward. In mimicking Morris and Roldan, the league could find a path toward gaining a stronger foothold in American culture. Let the personalities shine. Other efforts like the Gargs & Gordo Guide, featuring Sebastian Lletget demonstrating the proper selfie technique, and The Benny Feilhaber Show, in which the Sporting Kansas City midfielder and Sal Zizzo wore sunglasses while discussing anything and everything, were more formal but in the same spirit.

Morris and Roldan are the next step, a natural friendship between emerging talents who are genuine and approachable. While not every team will can have two young stars who love to hang out with each other and post about it on social media, there's nothing wrong with making that a goal, encouraging those bonds to occur and promoting them when they do. MLS needs its youth, especially its American youth, to be good. It also needs its youth to be goofy. When it's appropriate, let that freak flag fly high.

With each passing year, soccer around the world loses a little bit of its soul, especially in Europe, where corporate money drives endless rules and regulations. The cash exists in the U.S. too, but it's less, making the sport a bit more malleable. It's a growing game here, and the league is finding its way and figuring out what works.

MLS might never get to joga bonita, but there's no reason it can't get joga diversao. Sports are supposed to be fun, and the Seattle duo's amusing act goes a long way toward achieving that goal. Their team's midseason turnaround and the astounding run to MLS Cup is the best story of the 2016 season. Their friendship is the best part of the Sounders' season. The obvious joy they take in expressing that bond is the best part of the friendship.

MLS fans—and league executives—should support, like and love their antics.

If they come together to help the Sounders beat Toronto FC on Saturday night and win the MLS Cup, expect Roldan and Morris to bring their bromance to the next level.

The Seattle Sounders weren't supposed to be a participant in MLS Cup. 

The winners of the Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship were left for dead at the end of July following a brutal performance against Sporting Kansas City that led to the dismissal of longtime head coach Sigi Schmid. 

The club, led by interim-turned-permanent boss Brian Schmetzer, were the underdogs against Supporters' Shield winners FC Dallas in the semi-final round of the postseason, but they handled the top dogs of the West with ease over two legs. 

Sunday's trip to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the second leg of the West final against the Colorado Rapids was supposed to be a task as impossible as they come given the Rapids' terrific form at home in 2016. 

But once again, the Sounders rose up from out of nowhere and clinched the first of two spots in the MLS Cup final on December 10.

If that's not enough to impress you, the Sounders did all of this without Clint Dempsey, who was ruled out for the season with an irregular heartbeat at the end of September. 

On top of all that, forward Jordan Morris, who scored Sunday's game-winner to put the Sounders through 3-1 on aggregate, was playing with flu-like symptoms, according to the ESPN broadcast. 

With everything coming together at the perfect time, it's hard not to believe the Sounders are a team of destiny.

Things could get even sweeter for the Sounders if the Montreal Impact come out on top in the second leg of Wednesday's Eastern Conference Championship. An Impact victory would make the soccer-mad city of Seattle the site of the MLS Cup final. 

All of this has occurred in a wild span of three months and spurred by a change that was brewing for quite some time. 

Despite achieving plenty of success under Schmid, including four U.S. Open Cups, the Sounders were never able to get over the hump and reach MLS Cup, even with players such as Dempsey and Obafemi Martins lighting the nets on fire for long stretches. 

Martins left the club in the offseason after receiving a lucrative offer in China, a transfer that thrust the rookie Morris into a headlining role almost immediately. In addition to suffering a blow in attack, the Sounders had to find a perfect recipe for success at center-back, with Roman Torres recovering from an ACL injury. 

Over the first five months of the season, the Sounders were dealt blow after blow, as they earned just 20 points from 20 matches. During that span, Seattle only picked up points in consecutive games twice. 

With tolerance for Schmid shriveling, the Sounders fell flat on their faces in a 3-0 loss to Sporting KC on July 24. In that game, Seattle mustered one shot, which went off target, enjoyed just 35.2 percent of the possession and completed 250 fewer passes than their opponents. 

The introduction of Schmetzer, who was an assistant under Schmid, instantly brought new life into the franchise. And in a league where parity reigns supreme, the Sounders started a charge into the postseason. 

From July 31 to the end of the regular season on October 23, the Sounders lost twice, to the rival Portland Timbers and to FC Dallas on the penultimate weekend of the campaign. 

A 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Decision Day handed the Sounders an improbable home game in the knockout round against the same Sporting KC side they faced on one of the darkest days since their entrance into MLS in 2009.

That's when the Sounders started to trigger the thought that they are a team of destiny. Nelson Valdez, a forward known for his lack of productivity in front of the net, provided the club with an 88th-minute winner. The tally was the first of 2016 for Valdez and only his second in 35 MLS contests. 

Then came the eight-minute onslaught at home in the first leg of the Western Conference semi-final that was led by Morris and midseason acquisition Nicolas Lodeiro. The Uruguayan designated player scored twice after Valdez, the unlikely hero of the postseason run, opened the scoring at CenturyLink Field.

Lodeiro was the driver of Seattle's late-season surge. The 27-year-old is a rare outlier among midseason signings. Normally, new faces to the league struggle to adjust right away, but Lodeiro did his research. He was given a subscription to the league's streaming service, MLS Live, beforehand to see exactly what he was going to be dealing with. 

The attacking midfielder hit the ground running and never looked back, as he scored four goals and provided eight assists in 13 regular-season appearances.

It came as no surprise to anyone that the three key cogs in attack provided the knockout punch in the 56th minute on Sunday.

The electric transfer from South America played a ball to the head off the castoff, who fed the hardworking rookie in the buildup to what will go down as one of the most important goals in club history.

What a finish from @JmoSmooth13! A MASSIVE away goal for @SoundersFC. #COLvSEA https://t.co/6PVqIW6QMH

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 27, 2016

The goal came after a first-half performance that drew comparisons to the lackluster summer afternoon in Kansas City. But just like they did in the regular season, Seattle rose from the ashes to earn the long-coveted place in MLS Cup. 

There's still one match to be played, and an important one at that, but after everything the Sounders have fought through in such a short period, it's hard to argue that they are not a team of destiny. 

     

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter; @JTansey90. 

Seattle Sounders general manager and president Garth Lagerwey announced Tuesday that star forward Clint Dempsey would miss the remainder of the season because of an irregular heartbeat, according to Ryan Krasnoo of SoundersFC.com.

"If we prioritize this now, hopefully we can get Dempsey back in 2017," Lagerwey said, per Sounders Beat, adding, "Clint has overcome a lot, and I believe he can overcome this as well."

Sounders interim head coach Brian Schmetzer also addressed the media.

"The messaging was not that big of a shock to anybody," he said, according to Sounders Beat. "It's a sad story because Clint is an integral part of the team."

Schmetzer isn't worried about whether his team will fold without Dempsey in the mix as the Sounders pursue a playoff spot:

Schmetzer: "We miss him, but we've had some good results. It's a strong group."

— Sounders Beat (@SoundersBeat) September 27, 2016

Dempsey's irregular heartbeat was discovered in August, and he hasn't appeared in a game since Aug. 21. He returned to training Sept. 14 but ceased training with the Sounders last week, per Krasnoo.

In total this season, he's made 17 MLS appearances, scoring eight goals and adding two assists.

He remains one of the best players in MLS and one of the truly important contributors for the United States men's national team, and his availability for the country's two World Cup qualifiers in November now seems unlikely.

Former player and current pundit Stuart Holden believes that to be the case:

https://twitter.com/stuholden/status/780842541209882624

For Seattle, Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro will have to continue and perhaps even improve upon their strong play in Seattle's attack to make up for Dempsey's absence as the club tries to fight its way into the postseason.

   

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

The Seattle Sounders received news over the weekend that no club wants to hear less than a month before the regular season begins. The Sounders are expected to lose their leading scorer from 2015, Obafemi Martins, to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. 

The transfer shouldn't come as a major surprise given the recent spending power of the Chinese first division and the history Martins has. Before spending three years in Seattle, Martins bounced around between six different clubs in seven seasons. 

Having Martins stay in Seattle for three seasons has to be judged as a success given the player's propensity to go after a big payday. It must be noted Martins isn't officially gone as of this writing, but all signs are pointing to the transfer happening sooner rather than later. 

"I can tell you that Oba is not here with us for this phase of camp," Seattle general manager Garth Lagerwey told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle. "We've had an approach from a Chinese club for his services. It could take a while to have that resolved. There's really nothing else we can add at this point, but hopefully we know more by the end of the week."

With the Nigerian forward not around the team at the moment, the Sounders must find a way to replace the 40 goals and 23 assists recorded by Martins in his 72 regular-season matches with the club. Luckily for the Sounders, they have three players ready to take on more of the workload up top. Clint Dempsey, Nelson Valdez and rookie Jordan Morris will be tasked with producing for Sigi Schmid's side as they attempt to hunt down the elusive MLS Cup. 

The impending loss of Martins puts more pressure on the team as a whole as well. The Sounders were already under pressure to win the MLS Cup after their 2015 season ended in disappointing fashion and the rival Portland Timbers captured the crown in December.

Winning in the Western Conference is never an easy task, and that isn't expected to change in 2016 as perennial powers LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake have revamped their rosters to contend for a championship once again. Add in the stacked rosters at FC Dallas, Vancouver and Portland and you have a conference that could produce a must-watch contest every weekend.

Seattle's task is not impossible if it loses Martins, but there will be plenty of gaps to fill and questions to answer. The biggest question looming over the Sounders is how they replace the chemistry that Dempsey and Martins built during their time together in Seattle. The cerebral understanding of each other's playing style made Dempsey and Martins such a good strike partnership when they were both healthy. 

Now Dempsey must try to discover a new chemistry with Valdez, Morris and whoever starts next to or behind him in Schmid's formation. The 32-year-old Valdez, who, like Martins, was a footballing vagabond before arriving in Seattle, will get the chance to start right away next to Dempsey. Valdez, who arrived last summer, should feel more comfortable in the league with a full offseason and preseason under his belt. 

But instead of being relied on to relieve Dempsey or Martins, Valdez will now become a focal point of the attack. The potential transfer of Martins also opens up more playing time for Morris and fellow homegrown player Darwin Jones. Both youngsters still need to prove their worth with the first team, but they have shown in the past at other levels that they are capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis. 

Instead of easing into the lineup during early-season midweek MLS games and U.S. Open Cup contests, the young pair may be asked to provide critical minutes on the pitch as early as Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Club America at CenturyLink Field. 

Forward won't be the only position the Sounders will look to get goals from in 2016, since they have a few players in midfield and defense who produce when called upon. Veterans Erik Friberg and Andreas Ivanschitz will be asked to do more moving forward, as well as 20-year-old Cristian Roldan, who could be poised for a breakout season in the middle of the park.

Seattle also made a vital addition to the squad in defense as it brought in left-back Joevin Jones from the Chicago Fire in January. With Jones and Tyrone Mears bombing forward from the defensive flanks, the Sounders will be able to exploit holes in opposing defenses at certain times of the game. 

Depth was never going to be a major issue for the Sounders entering 2016 with or without Martins. The concerns begin to grow when you look at who fills the positions on the depth chart. As we mentioned above, Morris and Darwin Jones have succeeded at lower levels, but they haven't been tested by the rigors of MLS. There is a good chance they will experience growing pains while Dempsey and Valdez work out the kinks in their new pairing up top. 

But despite all the growing pains that the Sounders could go through at the start of 2016, they still have to be in the championship conversation entering the regular season due to the well-rounded squad Schmid and Lagerway have built.

At a club like Seattle, one player doesn't make or break the team. If every player in the squad chips in to replace the production of Martins, we could see the Sounders near the top of the Western Conference as early as May or June, which would lead us to believe they will be one of the top sides to watch when the postseason rolls around. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

The Seattle Sounders' 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake was the team's ninth defeat in its last 11 games in Major League Soccer. Despite this poor form, Seattle should still be considered as a favorite for the MLS Cup.

According to recent odds provided by ESPN's Paul Carr, the Sounders are listed as 12-1 favorites. Only five teams have lower figures and two are in the Western Conference:

As the @MLS week begins tonight, here are the latest title odds from @LVSuperBook: pic.twitter.com/wbzIxx6JQG

— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) August 26, 2015

However, Seattle only has a 34 percent chance of qualifying for the playoffs, per Carr. Only three teams are below the Sounders:

MLS playoff odds from our Soccer Power Index, as the @MLS week begins tonight: pic.twitter.com/wD8ISTHi6R

— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) August 27, 2015

Those numbers appear to contradict one another, but upon closer scrutiny, they make sense. The Sounders are tied for the sixth and final playoff spot in the West with the San Jose Earthquakes. Seattle has also played 26 games compared to San Jose's 25.

Seattle has a tough ending to the season. It faces the Portland Timbers, Toronto FC, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake at home. The Sounders will play the Earthquakes, Vancouver Whitecaps, Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo on the road.

The main issue with the Sounders during the summer has been injuries and international call-ups. General manager Garth Lagerwey noticed this and bolstered the squad with several solid additions.

Panamanian defender Roman Torres will shore up the back line. He was called for a handball against RSL in his last outing, but Torres should be a valuable commodity for the Sounders.

Midfielders Erik Friberg and Andreas Ivanschitz give head coach Sigi Schmid extra options in midfield. Now he can tactically adjust with more central midfielders depending on the opposition.

Paraguayan striker Nelson Valdez was also acquired during the summer transfer window. He scored on his MLS debut against Orlando City SC but struggled versus RSL in the previous match.

Then there's Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso. Both players are still unavailable, and Schmid admitted that he "doesn't know" if they'll be ready to face Portland on Sunday, per the Seattle Times' Matt Pentz:

Your daily, #breaking Dempsey and Alonso news. Schmid says Sounders "don’t know yet" whether they'll be available Sunday against Portland

— Matt Pentz (@mattpentz) August 24, 2015

Now that Torres and Chad Marshall are the primary center backs, Alonso will be even more important to the Sounders.

MLS' armchair analyst Matthew Doyle noted that with Brad Evans moving from center back to midfield, distribution from defenders will likely decrease:

Gonna be interesting seeing Torres' passing charts. Not much of a distributor for Panama.https://t.co/JV6rjLxCt4

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) August 16, 2015

Not sure I agree. Evans' distribution & comfort on the ball was key to Seattle's shape when they were rolling.https://t.co/84bsc3ECeg

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) August 16, 2015

This is where Alonso solves the issue. He can help the defense by collecting the ball from deep and moving the play forward.

Dempsey is equally important due to his chemistry with Obafemi Martins up front. The American has seven goals and six assists in 13 appearances. However, suspension, injuries and international duty have limited his playing time.

Once these two return, the Sounders will be a difficult team to overcome with their depth in quality.

The home matches will be especially advantageous. Seattle has eight wins, one draw and four losses at CenturyLink Field. The Sounders have just three wins on the road this year.

There will be chances to earn points at home. TFC has conceded 30 goals on the road, and RSL's 26 isn't much better. The Timbers have scored just nine times outside of Providence Park, and the Galaxy have won just two away games.

On the surface, Seattle is in danger of missing the playoffs. In reality, the Sounders have bulked up and should have a full squad in the final months of the campaign.

The New England Revolution struggled last summer. They signed Jermaine Jones and ended up playing in the MLS Cup final. These turnarounds have occurred before.

If any side can recover after a rough patch, it's the Sounders.

Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.