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

CLEVELAND — Now, the New York Yankees must wait.

After winning the American League Championship Series on Saturday night, manager Aaron Boone’s team has to watch to see which of their National League counterparts will join them in the Fall Classic.

They’ll either face the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the NL Championship Series 3-2 heading into Sunday night’s Game 6 at Dodger Stadium, or the Yankees and the New York Mets will battle in their second Subway Series.

The Dodgers and the Mets each would bring their own challenges to a Yankees team that hasn’t won a world title since 2009.

But which team should the Yankees want to face?

The Mets

First off, there are a ton of storylines in this potential matchup: the battle of crosstown rivals in the World Series for the first time since 2000; Carlos Mendoza, Aaron Boone’s former bench coach, battling against his former boss; and Luis Severino pitching against his former club. There’s also a purple fast-food mascot vs. the militaristic Yankees, and, of course, the two presumed favorites for Juan Soto’s services this winter.

As for the on-field battle, the Yankees should hope the Mets can pull off a miracle comeback. If that were to happen, the vibes around this Mets team would be unmatched. However, the Yankees have more talent than the Mets to override the momentum the Mets have had for the past several months.

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

What the Mets can — and will — do is hit. Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Lindor are all performing like stars this postseason. Jesse Winker has been spectacular, and they’re getting quality contributions from Starling Marte, J.D. Martinez and Brandon Nimmo. The Yankees entered Game 5 of the ALCS with the best offense by wRC+ in the postseason. If Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Soto continue to hit as they have, and if Aaron Judge breaks through, they have the pieces in their lineup to keep up offensively.

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Derek Jeter once said the 2000 World Series was the most stressful to play in because he felt they had everything to lose while the Mets felt the opposite. This year’s World Series would feel similar, as the two franchises did not have the same level of expectations coming into this season. The pressure on the Yankees to win over 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 face 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 at 94-68. In the only time they met 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 his pitching out of the bullpen in the World Series, however unlikely it seems. Mookie Betts is just as dangerous, and this postseason he’s doused the idea that he can’t hit in the playoffs. Freddie Freeman is one of the best lefty hitters in the game and has a World Series under his belt. The Dodgers’ pitching staff hasn’t performed up to its hopes in the playoffs, but do you think the Yankees wouldn’t like a crack at Yoshinobu Yamamoto after he used them to get more money out of the Dodgers in the offseason? This Dodgers team has just a career .665 OPS vs. presumptive Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole. He’s held down Ohtani (4-for-20, .200).

Then there’s the logistics of it. The Yankees won’t have 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 shape.

Look, there’s no way around it. The Dodgers are the tougher matchup. But maybe the Yankees would have history on their side. The Dodgers and Yankees have faced each other 11 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)