Who should the Yankees want to face in the World Series: Dodgers or Mets?

CLEVELAND – Now the New York Yankees have to wait.

After winning the American League Championship Series on Saturday evening, coach Aaron Boone’s team will have to be excited to see which of their National League colleagues will be at the Fall Classic.

They will either face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the NL Championship Series 3-2 before Game 6 on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, or the Yankees and New York Mets will face off in their second Subway Series.

The Dodgers and Mets would each present their own challenges for a Yankees team that hasn’t won a World Series title since 2009.

But which team should the Yankees want to face?

The Mets

For starters, there are a lot of storylines in this potential matchup: the crosstown rivals battling it out in the World Series for the first time since 2000; Carlos Mendoza, Aaron Boone’s former replacement coach, fights against his former boss; and Luis Severino, pitching against his former club. There’s also a purple fast food mascot against the militaristic Yankees and, of course, the two presumptive favorites for Juan Soto’s services this winter.

As for the on-field battle, the Yankees should hope the Mets pull off a miracle comeback. If that were to happen, the buzz around this Mets team would be unmatched. However, the Yankees have more talent than the Mets to overcome the Mets’ momentum in recent months.

The Mets’ bullpen is thin, and pursuing their starting pitchers early would put a significant strain on a group that is struggling to keep them in games. Edwin Díaz has had his moments, but he is no longer the most dominant substitute in the sport.

What the Mets can and will do is hit. Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor are all looking like stars this offseason. Jesse Winker was spectacular and they get quality contributions from Starling Marte, JD Martinez and Brandon Nimmo. The Yankees entered Game 5 of the ALCS with the best offensive wRC+ in the postseason. If Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Soto continue to hit like they have, and if Aaron Judge breaks through, they will have the depth in their lineup to compete offensively.

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Derek Jeter once said the 2000 World Series was the most stressful because he felt like they had everything to lose, while the Mets felt the opposite. This year’s World Series would feel similar, as the two franchises didn’t have the same expectations going into this season. The pressure on the Yankees to beat the Mets would be immense, but that will also be the case if their opponent is the Dodgers. — Chris Kirschner

The Dodgers

I’ll play devil’s advocate: The Yankees should want to compete with the best. They should want the Dodgers.

Nothing about it would be easy. The Dodgers had the best record in the majors at 98-64. The Yankees were third, 94-68. In their only meeting this season, the Dodgers won the series 2-1 and outscored the Yankees 17-10.

Shohei Ohtani is the best hitter in baseball not named Aaron Judge — and they haven’t ruled out the possibility of him pitching out of the bullpen in the World Series, as unlikely as it may seem. Mookie Betts is just as dangerous, and this postseason he has put aside the thought that he won’t be able to score in the playoffs. Freddie Freeman is one of the best left-handed hitters in the game and has a World Series under his belt. The Dodgers’ pitching staff didn’t perform as well as they hoped in the playoffs, but do you think the Yankees wouldn’t be happy about Yoshinobu Yamamoto after he used them in the offseason to get more money from the Dodgers out? This Dodgers team just has a career .665 OPS against presumed Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole. He held down Ohtani (4-of-20, .200).

Then there are the logistics. The Yankees will have no home field advantage. They would have to fly cross-country at least twice in the two-three-two format of the best-of-seven series. But if they could win Game 1 or 2, they would return to the Bronx in strong form.

Look, there’s no way around it. The Dodgers are the tougher matchup. But perhaps the Yankees would have history on their side. The Dodgers and Yankees have faced each other eleven times in the World Series. The Yankees won eight of those matchups. — Brendan Kuty

(Top photo of Aaron Judge and Teoscar Hernandez in June: New York Yankees/Getty Images)