While the New York Mets’ minds are currently occupied by their NLCS series against the Los Angeles Dodgers that starts on Sunday, their expected pursuit of Yankees superstar and impending free agent Juan Soto will begin as soon as their 2024 season ends.

The Mets and Yankees are rumored to be the two teams who are most likely to sign Soto to a long-term deal this offseason.

However, ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney believes that he knows where in New York Soto will be playing next season — and has a compelling reason as to why.

“I think he’s going to wind up with the Mets either way,” Olney said of Soto on a recent episode of the ‘Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney’ podcast after fellow insider Kiley Mcdaniel said he thinks Soto will sign with the Yankees if they win the World Series and the Mets if they don’t.

“I think the fact that the Mets are having this phenomenal season, the way that it’s playing out, is going to increase the likelihood that he’s going to land there,” Olney continued. “Because there’s going to be an enthusiasm with Steve Cohen.

“If they hadn’t made the playoffs, let’s say they’re eliminated by mid-September, then I think they would be more tethered to the process, so to speak… I think if they end up reaching the World Series or winning the World Series… owners get excited. Owners get fired up. And to built off of what they did this year going into next year, there’s no way that you can do more to feed that than signing Juan Soto,” Olney added.

That take from Olney must be music to the ears of Mets fans.