Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner will be returning to the US after a prisoner exchange for the Merchant of Death Viktor Bout in a one person prisoner exchange between the US and Russia (AP file photo)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The United States and Russia have exchanged prisoners. WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball star Brittney Griner for famous arms dealer Viktor Bout aka “The Merchant of Death” who was in an American prison for 12 years.  Brittney Griner was held for nearly 10 months in a Russian prison on drug charges and was released Thursday in a one-for-one international prisoner swap.

The US still has work to do, as Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran was sentenced to 16 years in 2018 for espionage charges which the United States said are false, he was not involved in the exchange. Some experts in this matter were expecting that maybe the Russian government will also release the Marine.

Brittney Griner was arrested when at the Moscow airport she was trying to board a plane headed for the United States when it was found that she was carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil. Griner a center for the Phoenix Mercury went to Russia to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, and was earning a reported, at least $1 million from the team, far more than the WNBA maximum base salary of about $230,000.

The US and Russia are two countries with very tense relations these days, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine, the US has been sending billions of dollars to Ukraine (including some sophisticated weapons) and Russia’s Vladimir Putin considers the US a big contributor in a proxy war against Russia.

Brittney Griner was a victim of the situation when the Russian-Ukraine war was just getting started.  According to the Associated Press Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is widely known abroad as the “Merchant of Death” who fueled some of the world’s worst conflicts, many countries consider Bout one of the biggest professional mass murderers in the world.

Aledmys Díaz now Highest Paid A’s player

Utility man Aledmys Díaz who played for the Houston Astros last four seasons agreed to a 2-year $14.5 million contract with the Oakland A’s. He immediately becomes the highest paid A’s player on the current roster. Díaz born in Cuba, is 32 years old, began his career with St Louis in 2016, then played in Toronto and since 2019 with the Houston Astros, winning a championship with Houston win over the Philadelphia this most recent World Series.

Ironically the only free agent on the current roster for the Oakland A’s is another utility man, Chad Pinder who last season signed a one-year deal for $2.7 million and together with Tony Kemp who singed for one-year in 2022 for $2.2 million.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com