Sounders fan the flames on Roman Torres rumors

Reports of the Roman Torres-to-Seattle Sounders rumors' demise have been greatly exaggerated (possibly by us). What seemed like an almost sure thing last night, but seemed to be equally dead this morning is almost fully back on at this point, with Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey even talking about it publicly during an interview with KJR.

After addressing the trio of players that have already signed during the transfer window -- Erik Friberg, Andreas Ivanschitz and Nelson Valdez -- the interview got even more interesting as Dave "Softy" Mahler addressed the Roman Torres rumors. Lagerwey responded with three distinct quotes in response to questions from Mahler.

"I can't comment on players not on the team, but it can still happen."

Then

"Roman Torres is a player we admire."

Finally

"We are still working."

The interview ended with the distinct impression that there's still a strong possibility of Torres ending up in Seattle. At the same time, several Panamanian players have publicly voiced their support for Torres, most notably Blas Perez and Gabriel Gomez, as Chepo's reluctance is being seen as an affront to players' abilities to advance their careers.

While no trade appears to be in the works, the Sounders could open a roster spot by putting someone on the Disabled List. Damion Lowe would seem a reasonable candidate, as he's yet to appear for the Sounders and occupies an international roster spot.