Good morning to everyone but especially to...

BRITTNEY GRINER

WNBA star Brittney Griner is coming home. Griner was released from a Russian penal colony on Thursday morning in a one-for-one prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner had been in Russian custody since being detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport, when the Russian Federal Customs Service found vape cartridges containing the marijuana concentrate hashish oil in her luggage.

The exchange took place in the United Arab Emirates after President Biden gave final approval of the swap following weeks of negotiations.According to CBS News, the United States and Russia agreed on the swap last Thursday.Griner was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in August after being found guilty on drug charges in Russian court. You can read about the complicated matter of the entire ordeal here.

After CBS News reported the swap, the official Twitter account for President Biden confirmed the news in a few brief sentences: "She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home."

Check back for more details on Griner's release here as they come in.

AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO XANDER BOGAERTS AND THE SAN DIEGO PADRES

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The Padres' offseason had mostly been defined by big swings and misses. They had the biggest offer for Aaron Judge, who decided to stay with the Yankees. They also had the highest offer for Trea Turner, who chose the Phillies.

Early this morning, they finally got good news when they agreed to an 11-year, $280-million deal with star shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

Bogaerts, 30, is a pretty awesome consolation prize, though. He was the fifth-best free agent in this class according to our R.J. Anderson. He's a four-time All-Star who slashed .307/.377/.456 in 2022, and he's finished in the top dozen in AL MVP voting three of the past four years. He's also an outstanding defender.Of course, the Padres still have Fernando Tatis Jr. on their roster, and this acquisition may push him to the outfield.

The Padres' already-terrific collection of top-end talent just got better: Bogaerts. Tatis Jr. Juan Soto. Manny Machado. Josh Hader. Yu Darvish.

Now the question is: Can that core lead them to their first World Series title? We'll have to see.

Honorable mentions

And not such a good morning for...

USATSI

VON MILLER AND THE BUFFALO BILLS

The news surrounding Von Miller's knee injury went from sigh of relief to "at least he'll be back" to worst-case scenario in a hurry. The Bills' star pass rusher is done for the year with a torn ACL.

Last week, Von Miller revealed he had lateral meniscus damage and hoped to be back for the Bills' Week 14 contest against the Jets. But days later, the Bills placed him on IR, meaning he couldn't return until Week 17.

This week, during surgery to reposition the lateral meniscus and clean up cartilage damage, doctors discovered the torn ACL, which hadn't shown up on the initial scans. This is the same ACL that Miller tore in 2013.Miller signed a six-year, $120-million deal this offseason to be a key part of the Bills pass rush -- especially in the playoffs.
According to SportsLine projections, Buffalo's chance of winning the AFC decreases from 39.1% to 32.7% without Miller, and its chance of winning the Super Bowl decreases from 24.8% to 19%.

That last bullet point is no surprise: Miller had four sacks in four postseason games last year for the Super Bowl-champion Rams, and his 10.5 career postseason sacks are tied for 11th since individual sacks became official in 1982.

Miller had eight sacks -- including two in a win at the Chiefs -- this season, and the Bills posted a 7.3% sack rate with him on the field, compared to 6.0% without. Furthermore, no other Bills player has more than five sacks this season. Youngsters Gregory Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Boogie Basham will be called upon to step up, and while they're capable, they simply don't have the proven, game-wrecking track record Miller does.

Not so honorable mentions

The Yankees signed Aaron Judge. Now what? ⚾

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The Yankees took care of far and away their biggest offseason need by keeping Aaron Judge in pinstripes thanks to a nine-year, $360-million deal. They still have work to do, though.

Their biggest moves this offseason have been retaining Judge, re-signing Anthony Rizzo and signing Tommy Kahnle. Those first two names were all part of the 2022 team -- the 2022 team that got swept by the Astros in the ALCS. So, naturally, our MLB expert Mike Axisa has three more things for the Yankees to do this offseason, including...

Mike notes the Yankees also need to add a starter after Jameson Taillon signed with the Cubs. You can see the entire to-do list for the Yankees here.