UR MAG

Another offseason has come and gone, and another marathon of an MLB season is staring us in the face. To close the book on the winter and set the stage for the season ahead, it's time to conduct my annual exercise of evaluating all 30 rosters based on how much they changed since last year. This is not about determining whether a squad is better or worse, simply whether they are different.

The methodology is simple and remains the same as it wasin 2024and2025. Tally every plate appearance taken and inning pitched for each team last season. If the players behind those plate appearances and innings are still in the organization, they qualify as "returning."

For example, Francisco Lindor recorded an MLB-leading 732 plate appearances in 2025, roughly 11.8% of his team's trips to the batter's box. He is still on the Mets, so his plate appearances are returning. The same cannot be said about Pete Alonso (709 plate appearances), Brandon Nimmo (652) or Jeff McNeil (462). By subtracting that trio's playing time from the Mets' returning total and comparing the results to teams across the league, we can arrive at an objective measure of how different the new-look Mets are from the 2025 squad, rather than merely marveling at the chaotic roster shuffling that took place in Queens this winter.

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In other words, this is a straightforward avenue to assess roster turnover, a vehicle for answering a popular offseason question: Which teams ran it back, and which teams shook things up?

This exercise also helps capture which fan bases will be adjusting to a larger portion of fresh faces on their teams in 2026 and which will be watching rosters that are largely unchanged.

A crucial caveat to keep in mind: Returning totals do not account for injuries, which can occasionally result in misleading tallies, especially on the mound. Pitchers who delivered a sizable workload last year but are currently injured — such as Pablo López in Minnesota or Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Strider in Atlanta — are still considered part of the team's "returning" total, even if they won't be available for most or all of the coming season. This dynamic is especially relevant in the case of the Braves, who technically have retained the second-highest percentage of 2025 innings, but absences could open the door for new arms to cover innings in 2026.

But enough preamble, let's get to the data and highlight a few teams whose totals stand out on both ends of the spectrum:

New York Mets

Welcome to Extreme Makeover: David Stearns Edition. The Mets epitomize this exercise, having overhauled their roster in response to a dismally disappointing 2025 that the front office and ownership evidently viewed as cause for a total refresh. That included letting mainstays Alonso and Edwin Díaz walk in free agency and jettisoning the two other longest-tenured players, Nimmo and McNeil, via trade. After the dramatic subtraction, the Mets slowly restocked their offense with Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette and Luis Robert Jr., plus Marcus Semien, who arrived from Texas in the Nimmo swap. Franchise anchors Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto remain in place, but the lineup around them looks a whole lot different entering 2026.

There's a bit more continuity on the mound, with New York's top three pitchers by innings last season — David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga — still in the fold. But the departures of Díaz, Griffin Canning, who ranked fourth in games started and innings last year, and Ryne Stanek, the Mets' most used reliever, necessitated some additions to the pitching staff. New York dealt two top prospects in Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to land one of the best starting pitchers on the trade market in Freddy Peralta and spent real dough to snag a pair of high-leverage bullpen arms in Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. All together, it was a wild winter of roster reconstruction, closing the book on several lengthy and notable Mets tenures and starting new chapters for some high-profile fresh faces.

New York Yankees

Polar opposite of the Mets on the continuity spectrum are the New York Yankees, who spent the bulk of the offseason trying to keep their roster intact. This is a sharp contrast in strategy not only to their neighbors in Queens but also to the Yankees' own roster construction just a year ago. Entering 2025, coming off its first World Series berth since 2009, New York had the fourth-lowest percentage of plate appearances plus innings returning in MLB. That was primarily due to the departures of lineup regulars Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, plus some key innings-eaters in Nestor Cortes Jr. and Marcus Stroman.

The additions of Max Fried and Cody Bellinger, plus the emergence of homegrown impact players Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler, kept New York near the top of the American League in 2025, but an abrupt October exit against Toronto in the ALDS suggested another roster remix might be in order. Instead, general manager Brian Cashman spent the winter retaining a whopping six free agents, from starting outfielders Bellinger and breakout slugger Trent Grisham to bench bats Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario to depth arms Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn. The most significant external addition was a new pitcher in Ryan Weathers, while Williams and Weaver bolted crosstown to join the Mets, putting a dent in the Yankees' returning total on the mound. But the Yanks rank second in returning bats behind only the Tigers, with their top 11 hitters by 2025 plate appearances still in the organization (Nos. 12 and 13, Oswald Peraza and DJ LeMahieu, are no longer around).

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There seems to be some consternation within the fan base that running it back to this degree might not be the best plan. But Cashman seems unbothered by that perception, and there's reason to believe that with enough additional strides internally, the Yankees should be in the mix for another division title in 2026. It's also worth noting that the most exciting returning Yankee is one who didn't throw a pitch last season; that's ace Gerrit Cole, whose comeback from Tommy John surgery isn't captured in these calculations but is undoubtedly an enormous storyline in the Bronx.

Pittsburgh Pirates

It wasn't as flashy or as extreme as what the Mets did, but the Pirates are another club that was awfully busy reshaping the roster over the past few months, and the data conveys as much. Pittsburgh, of course, operates in a different universe than New York when it comes to spending, but the Pirates still managed to drastically alter their team through a series of trades and (relatively) aggressive expenditures in free agency. The general theme and goal of Pittsburgh's offseason was to balance out a roster that had a lot to like on the pitching side but was bereft of impact in the lineup.

In an effort to upgrade what was the worst offense in baseball by wRC+ in 2025, the Pirates acquired second-base slugger Brandon Lowe, signed two veteran mashers in Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna and added to the outfield mix with speedster Jake Mangum and near-ready prospect Jhostynxon Garcia. This mix of quality hitters will backfill the at-bats vacated most notably by the beloved Andrew McCutchen, as well as Tommy Pham, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ke'Bryan Hayes; that quartet combined to log more than 1,800 plate appearances last season.

On the mound, the next wave of homegrown Pirates hurlers, headlined by top prospect Bubba Chandler, are expected to cover the frames that were handled last year by veteran Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter before he was traded. Those two lefties ranked third and fourth in 2025 innings for Pittsburgh, while Mike Burrows (96 IP) and Johan Oviedo (40 1/3 IP) were also sent elsewhere in the quest for more bats.

Can this overhauled offense and an ascendant pitching staff led by Paul Skenes end the longest postseason drought in the National League? Can't wait to find out.

Detroit Tigers

The only team with a higher rate of return than the Yankees, the Tigers sit atop the leaderboard due more to the nature of their roster than a concerted effort to retain free agents. The tone of the offseason was set early, when Detroit's two most prominent potential free agents chose to stay put: Jack Flaherty by exercising his player option and Gleyber Torres by accepting the qualifying offer. Reliever Kyle Finnegan, acquired at last year's trade deadline, followed by re-upping with the Tigers on a two-year deal in early December. Beyond that, the Tigers didn't have many key contributors hit the open market, and perhaps even more importantly, president of baseball operations Scott Harris opted to keep quiet on the trade front. That means a gigantic portion of the regulars from last season are still around, including the top 11 batters by plate appearances and the top seven pitchers by innings pitched.

At the plate, that continuity could be construed as a negative, considering how badly the offense tailed off down the stretch and into October, but promising reinforcements are on the way in the form of top prospect Kevin McGonigle. Meanwhile on the mound, many of the same arms are in place, but that doesn't mean they'll be tasked with covering nearly the same number of innings after Detroit added several big-name pitchers via free agency in frontline lefty Framber Valdez, old friend Justin Verlander and new closer Kenley Jansen. That Verlander — a legend in Detroit — counts as "fresh face" underscores how few new names Tigers fans will need to learn as the season begins. Whether Detroit should have upgraded its lineup more aggressively, rather than supercharging its pitching staff behind Tarik Skubal, will be an interesting what-if to monitor as the season unfolds.

Cleveland Guardians

The defending AL Central champions and the biggest benefactors of Detroit's second-half collapse last season, Cleveland also deployed the offseason strategy of changing very little. However, unlike the Tigers, who eventually splashed some cash around in free agency, Cleveland did nothing of the sort while remaining stingy on the trade market. That result is a total nothing-burger of an offseason outside of a few bullpen additions (Shawn Armstrong, Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon) and a minor-league deal for veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

The biggest move of Cleveland's winter was an extension for face-of-the-franchise José Ramírez. It's great for the Guardians to continue that player-team partnership, but it did nothing to change the fortunes of the team in the short term. Cleveland sure looked like it could use some more substantial upgrades on offense but instead stood largely pat, trusting that its deep group of young but unproven bats can grow together to form a more competent offense in 2026.

One important note regarding Cleveland's totals in the chart above: Its returning inningsdo notinclude the combined 136 innings thrown in 2025 by Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who remain on the restricted list amid their alleged involvement in the gambling scandal that rocked baseball last summer. Although they technically remain in the Guardians' organization, both were recently moved to the unpaid non-disciplinary leave list as they await federal hearings. Including them as part of Cleveland's returning total feels misleading at this stage, considering the slim chance that either ever pitches in MLB again. Had Clase and Ortiz counted toward the Guardians' returning innings, that would've vault the team to the top of the overall rankings. Instead, the Guards slot in third, behind the Tigers and Yankees.

Boston Red Sox

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been transacting up a storm since taking over in Boston, and this offseason was no different. It's no secret that the Red Sox intended to build around Alex Bregman after sending Rafael Devers to San Francisco in a midseason stunner of a trade, but Bregman instead said goodbye after one year in Boston, finding a better deal with the Cubs and leaving the Red Sox to pivot. That change of plans mostly centered on improving the pitching staff behind Garrett Crochet, upgrading significantly via free agency (Ranger Suárez) and trade (Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo).

That might've seemed like a strange use of resources, considering Boston's pair of MLB-ready prospects in Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, but free-agent departures (Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler, Justin Wilson, Sean Newcomb, Dustin May) and a series of trades (Hunter Dobbins, Brennan Bernardino, Richard Fitts, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks) thinned out the pitching depth considerably, prompting those major adds on the mound. Boston also made moves to help replace Bregman's (and Devers') production, with Willson Contreras the biggest bat brought in and Caleb Durbin rounding out the infield mix after a standout rookie season with the Brewers.

Perhaps most remarkable about the Red Sox's placement in the rate of return rankings is how much lower they could've been, had they traded from their outfield surplus as many expected them to. A deal of Jarren Duran or Ceddanne Rafaela would've plummeted Boston down toward the bottom with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Instead, Breslow opted to hold on to all of his outfielders and trust that they'll get the requisite at-bats to form a formidable lineup.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam and Russia signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam as the Southeast Asian countryrevives its nuclear planswith hopes of boosting energy security while curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Vietnam-Russia-Nuclear

The deal for the Ninh Thuan 1 plant, reported by Vietnamese state media, comes after two similar projects were shelved in 2016 over rising costs and safety issues.

The agreement was signed Monday during Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính's visit to Moscow, where he met his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin. The two countries described the plant as a "symbolic project" of their friendship, according to Vietnam's official government newspaper.

The new plant also fits with Vietnam's ambitions tobecome richby 2050 by growing into Asia's next "tiger economy."

The deal outlines plans to build two Russian-designed reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts, which are based on an existing plant in Russia.

Concerns over energy security have sharpened since thewar in Irantriggered aglobal energy shortage, raising the cost of imported fossil fuels and adding urgency to Hanoi's search for stable, long-term power sources.

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Across Southeast Asia, fast-growing economies areturning to nuclear powerfor cleaner, more reliable energy. Advocates say it offers lower emissions than coal, oil and gas, while newer technology has made reactors safer, smaller and cheaper to build.

Beyond nuclear energy, Monday's meeting in Moscow included discussion of expanding cooperation in oil and gas, technology and infrastructure.

Vietnam and Russia have maintained ties since 1950, rooted in the Cold War. But economic links remain modest. Trade rose from $3.63 billion in 2023 to $4.77 billion in 2025, far below Vietnam's trade with China and the United States.

Russia remains a key arms supplier, thoughHanoi is seeking to diversify.

The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

Across some of the nation's busiest airports on Monday, groups of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surveyed what felt like never-ending security lines, some directing confused travelers while others silently supervised with their thumbs tucked into the sides of their tactical vests.

Hundreds ofICE agents were deployedto 14 airports on Monday as part of the Trump administration's effort to mitigate painful travel delays that have resulted from aDepartment of Homeland Security shutdown. Fliers have faced hourslong waits and lines snaking out of airports ashundreds of TSA employeeshave quit and thousands more have called out of work after going weeks without pay.

But while the ICE agents – who are being paid – were spotted in Atlanta, New York, Houston, Chicago and others cities on Monday, officials have said they are limited in what duties they can perform: They are not trained, for example, to operate the understaffed security checkpoints that are often the source of delays.

Instead, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said they will assist with simpler tasks, ideally freeing up more TSA employees to perform critical and specialized security work.

While airports in Atlanta and Houston have seen hourslong TSA wait times, travelers at LaGuardia Airport in New York were not even able to get into security lines until Monday afternoon, aftera fatal collisionbetween an Air Canada plane and a fire truck closed the airport overnight.

As travelers and CNN crews observed federal agents roving through several airports on Monday, it was at times unclear what tasks they were assigned to carry out.

Even so, Homan said more airports may see an ICE presence in the coming days. Here's what we know.

ICE will allow TSA to focus on security screenings, Homan says

Mounting TSA employee callouts have crippled US airports that rely on the government employees for security, as an influx of spring break travelers wheel their suitcases through the doors.

Some airports have been forced to dramatically cut down on the number of security checkpoints as an increasing number of TSA employees haven't shown up to work.

At the world's busiest travel hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 41% of TSA workers called out on Sunday. Similar numbers were reported at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where passengers waited in line foras many as four hoursthe following day.More than a thirdalso called out at airports in Baltimore, New York and New Orleans on Sunday.

While ICE agents are not trained to perform security screenings, Homan said they could relieve TSA employees of other tasks, like monitoring exits and crowd control, and allow them to be redirected to specialized screening work.

"We're simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don't need their specialized expertise, such as screening through the X-ray machine," Homan told Dana Bash on Sunday. He noted agents will not be asked to perform tasks they do not have expertise in.

"Not trained in that? We won't do that," the border czar said.

Homan pointed out that ICE agents' presence in airports is not new. They "are assigned at many airports across the country already," where they perform criminal investigations and immigration enforcement, he said.

John Pistole, a former TSA administrator and former FBI deputy director, said agents may also provide a more conspicuous security presence to deter criminals who may hope to take advantage of the chaos. He noted increased safety concerns amid thewar in Iran.

"Hopefully they could be a visible deterrent to a potential terrorist who may want to go in and make a name for themselves" while all eyes are on US airports, Pistole said.

While major airports have their own police forces, these agencies may be "stretched thin" by airport crowds, Pistole added. In Atlanta, city police officers who were working at the airport Monday told CNN their days off had been canceled and they have been working 12-hour shifts.

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Agents' roles are still coming into focus

As President Donald Trumpannounced Saturday afternoonthat he wanted ICE in airports, DHS officials raced to formulate a plan for deployment. And as agents arrived at airports Monday morning, their roles sometimes seemed unclear to onlookers.

In the Atlanta airport, ICE had a constantly visible presence but did not appear to be helping with check-ins or directing crowds, according to CNN's Ryan Young. One group observed by a CNN producer appeared to spend several hours largely talking amongst themselves, wandering the floor and getting something to eat.

Houston airport officials noted in a statement that their security screening procedures would not change. They added "decisions regarding ICE personnel and their roles are made at the federal level."

"They've been kind of standing around the edges, clearly not involved in helping process the thousands of passengers trying to make their way through here," CNN's Ed Lavandera reported from Houston. "It's not exactly clear how they're helping, how they're alleviating the pressure that this airport is under."

A flier passing through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport said he did not see ICE agents offering hands-on help, but he felt their presence encouraged the security process to go more smoothly. Sometimes, he saw agents directing travelers who asked where they needed to go.

"I don't think they were necessarily doing anything to help, but it just kind of made the process feel like it was flowing a little bit better than what I had seen on the news," said James Wold.

Some Democratic lawmakershave expressed concernthat ICE's presence will make some travelers nervous and have questioned how much the agency will be able to help. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Monday lamented that all he has seen agents doing is "roaming around."

DHS, however, said in a statement Monday the federal presence will "help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions."

Immigration enforcement is still on the table

Though ICE agents will be stepping into unfamiliar roles by assisting travelers, they will not be leaving immigration enforcement duties at the door, Homan said.

"We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time," Homan told CNN Sunday. "Is that going to change? It's not going to change."

Trump said Monday that federal immigration officerswill conduct arrestsof undocumented immigrants, but hedged it is not their priority while deployed.

"They love it, because they're able to arrest illegals as they come into the country. That's very fertile territory, but that's not why they're there; they're really there to help," Trump told reporters.

ICE has previously conducted immigration arrests at airports. Just a day before ICE agents were sent to aid TSA, two people werearrested by federal agentsat the San Francisco International Airport. DHS said the pair was in the US illegally and had a 2019 order of removal.

At the behest of Trump, agents have been forgoing the masks they often wear toshield their identitieswhen detaining people on the streets. Among the points of dispute over DHS funding is whether immigration agents should be prohibited from wearing masks.

Trump on Monday said he supports agents masking, but believed it was not an "appropriate look" for interacting with people at airports.

"For purposes of the airport, I've requested that they take off the mask,"Trump said."And I believe they are willing to do that."

CNN's Ryan Young, Ed Lavandera, Leigh Waldman, Joel Williams, Aaron Cooper, Sabrina Castro, Priscilla Alvarez, Kit Maher and Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.

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At least 64 people were killed and scores more injured after a Colombian military transport plane crashed on takeoff in south of the country, according to the region's Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft broke into pieces on impact and caught fire after going down near Puerto Leguízamo, a town in the Putumayo region that borders Peru.

Among the 114 passengers on the aircraft were 112 members of Colombia's Army and two police officers, Molina said, adding that 11 crew members were also onboard.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said. There is no indication of an attack by criminal groups, he added.

The plane was in airworthy condition and the crew was "duly qualified," he said.

A video geolocated by CNN shows the military plane taking off from Caucaya Airport and flying over a rural area moments before it went down. The footage indicates the crash happened less than two miles from the airport.

Images from the scene of the crash showed thick black smoke and flames rising from the wreckage.

Nicolas Ordoñez, an indigenous ranger involved in the search and rescue operations in Leguízamo, told CNN that several survivors had been taken to a local hospital.

Some of the injured soldiers were flown to the capital Bogotá for treatment.

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Sánchez has sent condolences to the families of those affected.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the crash "should never have happened." He lamented the lack of modernization of the armed forces, which he attributed to "bureaucratic difficulties."

Flight data shows the plane was a C-130H Hercules, an older model of the C-130 series that first entered service in March 1965, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The plane had been donated to the Colombian Air Force by the US Air Force in September 2020.

C-130 cargo planes are widely used and capable of operating in remote and adverse conditions.

It's the latest deadly plane crash that Colombia has experienced in recent months.

In late January, anaircraft went downnear Cúcuta in the northeast just nine minutes after taking off. All those on board died, including congressman Diógenes Quintero.

This story has been updated.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon, Avery Schmitz and Ivonne Valdés contributed to this report.

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DALLAS (AP) —Stephen Currywill be available for the play-in tournament if his ailing right knee allows.

Warriors Mavericks Basketball

Golden State coach Steve Kerr dismissed the notion that the Warriors would sit their superstar without a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

Kerr said beforeGolden State's 137-131 overtime victory at Dallason Monday night thatCurry's planned participation in practicea day earlier was put off by the medical staff. A six-game road trip ends against the Mavericks, and the Warriors will decide what's next for Curry after they get home.

"It's all just part of the rehab and all the different testing he does," Kerr said. "Just pushed back a day or two."

The Warriors are in 10th place in the Western Conference, and if they finish the season in that final spot in the play-in tournament, they would have to win two road games to make the playoffs.

Curry hasn't played since Jan. 30 as he deals with patella-femoral pain syndrome and bone bruising in the knee. Golden State is 23-16 with Curry and 11-22 without him this season.

The win over the Mavericks was just the second in the past 10 games for the Warriors, who are 7-15 since Curry's latest injury. Golden State guard Moses Moody exited late in OT with an apparently serious left knee injury.

"We're not chasing a play-in berth. We are squarely in the play-in no matter what we do," Kerr said. "Bottom line, if Steph is healthy, he's going to play because that's what we're here for. The chance to get into the playoffs is a big deal for us, big deal for Steph."

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At the same time, Kerr said if there's any risk of longer-term damage to the knee, Curry won't play. The 38-year-old leads the Warriors in scoring at 27.2 points per game.

Kerr deflected the question of whether Curry was disappointed that his return to practice was put off at least two more days.

Golden State had initially hoped he would return right after the All-Star break, andCurry sat out the All-Star Game this year.

"It's been a long haul," the coach said. "He's dying to get out there, for sure."

This story was corrected to show the Warriors are 23-16 when Stephen Curry plays, not 23-17.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/NBA