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Sometimes, teams absolutely rock a midseason signing.
Early returns indicate that's the case for the Seattle Sounders and their newest Designated Player, Uruguayan international Nicolas Lodeiro, who was voted SB Nation's MLS Player of the Week for Week 23 of the season. Lodeiro scored a goal and an assist in Seattle's 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, and now has a goal and three assists for what was a stumbling Sounders team in three games.
Lodeiro's addition, coupled with the simultaneous firing of longtime head coach Sigi Schmid, seems to have completely revived the Sounders' playoff hopes. If the playmaker continues his magic, it would be one of the more remarkable in-season turnarounds in MLS history, and he could be in line for some individual silverware come season's end. To this point, the returns are certainly promising.
Full results for Week 23, with first-place votes getting three points, second-place votes receiving two points and third-place votes earning a point each:
| Player | Points |
| Nicolas Lodeiro | 18 |
| Bradley Wright-Phillips | 9 |
| Kaká | 7 |
| David Villa | 6 |
| Sean Davis | 5 |
| Tim Howard | 4 |
| Dom Dwyer | 4 |
| Steve Birnbaum | 2 |
| Agus | 2 |
| Ethan Finlay | 1 |
| Fabinho | 1 |
| Luciano Acosta | 1 |
And here are the full ballots for Week 23:
| Voter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Rob Usry (Dirty South Soccer) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Bradley Wright-Phillips | Ethan Finlay |
| Dave Clark (Sounder at Heart) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Steve Birnbaum | Fabinho |
| Michael Citro (The Mane Land) | Kaká | Sean Davis | Dom Dwyer |
| Drew Epperley (Big D Soccer) | David Villa | Bradley Wright-Phillips | Dom Dwyer |
| Austin Fido (Once a Metro) | Bradley Wright-Phillips | Sean Davis | Nicolas Lodeiro |
| Sam Dunn (Hudson River Blue) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Tim Howard | Sean Davis |
| Jason Anderson (Black and Red United) | Kaká | Nicolas Lodeiro | Luciano Acosta |
| Jonathan Sigal (The Bent Musket) | David Villa | Dom Dwyer | Kaká |
| Nathaniel Marhefka (Massive Report) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Agus | Bradley Wright-Phillips |
| Alicia Rodriguez (Angels on Parade) | Nicolas Lodeiro | Tim Howard | Bradley Wright-Phillips |