Seattle Sounders sign Panamanian defender Roman Torres

The Seattle Sounders have acquired the services of Panama captain and central defender Roman Torres from Colombian outfit Millonarios, the club announced Wednesday.

Torres, 29, joins Seattle using the league's new Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) rule, which allows teams to acquire a one-time injection of allocation money - up to $500,000 over five years.

"Roman is one of the best defenders in CONCACAF and an imposing player who we believe will make an impact in MLS," Sounders general manager and president Garth Lagerwey said. "We think he can help us both as a defender and on attacking set pieces. Perhaps most importantly, he really wanted to come to Seattle and when the opportunity to acquire him arose, we took our chance without hesitation."

Torres joins Seattle after nine seasons in Colombia. He's made 331 career appearances and has scored 32 goals in his 11-year career. He has 79 caps for Panama, with 12 international goals to his name. He was one of the main characters for Panama's third-place finish in the 2015 Gold Cup, scoring against Mexico in a 2-1 loss in the semifinals.

Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid is pleased with his new acquisition, one of the first players in the league to sign on using the TAM rule.

"We believe Roman's athleticism and leadership are valuable assets to this club as we head into the final stretch of our season ... We're going to help Roman integrate into our team as quickly as possible, and we look forward to his contributions at Sounders FC," Schmid said.