Batting Around: Do the Yankees or Mets have a better chance to win the 2023 World Series?

Both New York teams have had uneven starts to 2023, but are above .500 one month in

Throughout the season the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed two teams off to surprisingly good starts. This week we're going to tackle the Mets and Yankees.

Which New York team has a better chance to win the 2023 World Series?

R.J. Anderson: There's an argument to be made either way. I lean toward the Yankees, mostly because I think they have a (slightly) easier path to securing a first-round bye. (No disrespect to the other teams in the American League.) If you could tell me the Mets would lock down a bye, I'd go with them. It's just basic probabilistic analysis. 

Dayn Perry: Neither would be my pick, but I have to lean Yankees. I think they're more likely to win the division and wind up with a bye, and I really worry about the age- and injury-driven collapse potential in the Mets' rotation, and that's not to mention they figure to be without their best high-leverage reliever for the postseason.   

Matt Snyder: I'll go with the Mets. Both teams might have trouble during stretches in the regular season and are probably better suited for a postseason run, if we envision good health and performance from the big guns. With the Mets, think about Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer firing on all cylinders while Kodai Senga has gotten totally acclimated to MLB by then. I expect they'll have made some high-profile additions to the bullpen by then and with a fully healthy rotation, perhaps someone like Tylor Megill becomes an X-factor reliever like we've seen so often in recent years with teams using starters in playoff relief. Between Brandon Nimmo's on-base chops, Jeff McNeil's contact skills, Pete Alonso's power and the presence of Francisco Lindor, the offense has plenty of well-rounded firepower to get hot enough in October, too. 

Mike Axisa: I'm with Matt. I think it's the Mets. Both teams similar problems (rotation injuries, offenses that aren't quite as good as you'd expect), but the Yankees play in a much deeper division, and thus are more likely to have to go through the Wild Card Series. The Mets have a better chance to win the division and earn a bye, and playing one fewer postseason round has an enormous impact on your World Series odds. It's been an uneven start to the season for both teams. I think the Mets have a clearer path to improvement (and seemingly more motivation to improve given how much money Steve Cohen has spent on his roster) and an easier path to the Division Series.