NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 20: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during a Summer Camp game at Yankee Stadium on July 20, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
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The Yankees-Mets Express crew talks Opening Day excitement, season award predictions, and more on the latest episode of YME.

Leen Amin and Josh Benjamin were excited to record their Yankees-Mets Express Opening Day special episode just over 24 hours before the first pitch of the 2020 MLB season is scheduled to be thrown.

The two kicked things off by discussing some roster moves the New York Mets made earlier in the day.

Amin asked Benjamin if Jed Lowrie, who was recently placed on the IL with a knee issue, “does not play a single game this season, would this end up being one of the worst signings in Mets history?”

Benjamin replied, “…it’s definitely going to be top three” because of bad luck due to injury.

They discussed Marcus Stroman’s calf issue, as well. (Note: after the episode had been recorded, it was announced that Stroman was placed on the IL with a left calf muscle tear and is week-to-week.)

The two then talked about New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez. Benjamin noted, “He’s 16/17 years old and is already built like a tank.” The two mentioned that Dominguez is several years away but looks like he’s ready to mash in the majors.

Amin mentioned that the Pennsylvania Department of Health denied the Toronto Blue Jays’ request to have their home games at PNC Park (the stadium of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Benjamin defended the decision.

“The farthest south [the Pirates] have to travel… is Kansas City. Whereas the Blue Jays, they have to go to Florida and Georgia, two places in Florida, at that… one of them being Miami, which is a main [COVID-19] hotspot, right now”, Benjamin said.

Florida and Georgia have been hit hard by COVID-19, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health may not want to take any risks when it comes to the Blue Jays potentially bringing the disease back with them.

Amin and Benjamin are in a baseball fantasy league together and they’ll be coming up with a punishment for the person who finishes lower in the standings. The crew finished off the episode by making their season predictions for awards. They’ll also be coming up with a punishment for the person who gets more predictions wrong.

Yankees-Mets Express is available on most podcast platforms. Tune in to hear the crew’s season award predictions. Share your thoughts and opinions on the episode and what you think the loser of the fantasy league and season award predictions should be!

Note: There was a slight mix-up later in the episode when Benjamin said the AL East and NL East would be combined into one division this season. That isn’t correct. They’ll both be their own separate divisions, as usual.

ESNY staff reports.