The biggest offseason in Sounders history will occur this coming offseason.

Whatever happens at the end of this season, there will probably be a lot of changes at the top of the roster.

It seems sensible to assess what all of this means going forward now that the Seattle Sounders’ summer transfer window has quietly closed. But before we go too far down that rabbit hole, let me just say that the Sounders could still make some moves before the roster freeze on September 13. The players that the Sounders can still add are essentially divided into two categories: those who are already part of the team and those who were free agents prior to the transfer window closing on August 2.

During his most recent meeting with the local media in mid-July, Sounders general manager Craig Waibel made it clear that he was only considering player additions if they would make the team “significantly better.”

Naturally, since then, a few things have come to pass. The biggest is that Waibel’s remarks were made with the understanding that the Sounders would be playing at nearly full strength. Given Cristian Roldan’s recent history of concussions, it seems a little unrealistic to think that this team will ever play with its ideal starting lineup for an extended amount of time. The fact that the Sounders have lost their last four games is the other significant shift. When you combine all of that, giving them an injection would seem to make sense.