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Back in 2018, when I snapped this image of Andrew Benintendi, could he have imagined that a few years later, Yankee Stadium would become his home field and he'd be playing with, not against Luis Severino?

The onetime Red Sox outfielder was traded to the Bronx in the first of the deals leading up to baseball's trade deadline.  But what else is Brian Cashman working on?  With the Reds having sent Luis Castillo the Mariners -- the Yankees opponent in six of their next nine games -- will he focus on obtaining A's pitcher Frankie Montas?  Jose Quintana of the Pirates?  Or will he promote promising home-grown lefty Ken Waldichuk from Scranton-Wilkes Barre?

The biggest buzz around baseball concerns the future of Juan Soto.  The Nationals budding superstar, looking for an unprecedented contract as well as a ticket out of an again-feeble club in Washington, is keeping my sports-talk radio colleagues busy.  Do you think he'll be calling the movers in the next 36 hours?  Is his future going to be in San Diego, St. Louis, or another team "flying under the radar?"
Remember when Rob Refsnyder was the Yankees top hitting prospect?  A half-dozen years after I snapped this image in spring training, he's doing well in a Red Sox uniform -- hitting over .300 as an outfielder playing against lefthanded pitching.  
  • The date was March 8th, 2016: Refsnyder, who'd already seen time with the Yankees, drew my attention... and I wasn't that familiar with that tall kid playing right field against the Marlins in Jupiter, Florida.
Now as July 2022 flips to August, Aaron Judge has blossomed beyond what anyone could have imagined that day.  42 home runs and 91 RBIs as we near the 2/3 mark of the season.  It's kinda fun to look back to before he was famous.





 

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