NEW YORK — Yankees right fielder Juan Soto sat alone in the dugout as the Dodgers charged the field to celebrate their second World Series title in five years.

Now begins the next phase in the 26-year-old outfielder’s career — free agency. And at least two teams, the Yankees and the Mets, are ready to win the battle for 2025 and beyond.

Soto has made his intentions clear: He is going to listen to everything.

“I feel like every team has the same opportunities when I go into free agency,” Soto told reporters late Wednesday night. “I don’t want to say anyone has an advantage because, at the end of the day, we’re gonna look at what they have and how much they want me.”

While a recent report indicated the Dodgers recently entered the fold as possible suitors for Soto, the belief is that the Dominican native prefers the East Coast, leaving both New York teams — and the Blue Jays — as possible favorites to land the young slugger.

With that said, how do the Yankees and Mets fare in the Soto sweepstakes and who comes away with the prize? Let’s look at a couple of factors that will matter.

Mets financials favorable to Yankees

The Mets enter the offseason with approximately $150 million in commitments, about $190 million less than their payroll at the end of the 2024 season. With the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) at $241 million for the 2025 season, the Mets have just under $90 million to spend on arbitration-eligible players and free agents before taking a luxury tax hit.

What does this mean for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and the front office?

“It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us,” Stearns said recently. “That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”

The Yankees, on the other hand, have projected commitments of $237 million for next season, according to Cot’s Contracts, giving them less salary flexibility.

There‘s also the question of ownership. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is much more conservative than his father, George (aka “The Boss”) and has already warned that the 2025 payroll can’t be $314 million like it was this year.

Mets owner Steve Cohen would likely be open to blowing past the CBT threshold if Stearns’ offseason dictates that path.

But experience matters

There’s no price tag on the experience Soto has had in pinstripes.

With the Yankees, Soto enjoyed the best 162-game season of his career. In 157 games, he slashed .288/.419/.569 and posted career highs in hits (156), run scored (128), home runs (41) and OPS+ (178).

It was a season that saw him earn his fourth All-Star nod and marked his return to the World Series for the first time since 2019.

The Mets are left with only being able to sell Soto on a promise after reaching the NL Championship Series this season. They’ve only been to the postseason on back-to-back seasons twice in franchise history, 1999 and 2000, and 2015 and 2016.

Prediction: Given Stearns’ comments, the Mets sign Soto for 14 years, $574 million ($41 million AAV).