After the World Series ended in October, a curious realignment took place as the Yankees sought to disentangle themselves from their current two-year decline and the Mets took gradual steps forward. Each team was given the same prognosis for the coming season, at least in the eyes of gamblers.

According to the Bovada online sports book and many other offshore bookmakers, the Yankees and the Mets are each 25-1 to win the World Series, a remarkable turn of events considering the teams’ histories. It may be more about the current negative perceptions of the Yankees than a positive analysis of the Mets, but for the first time in years, New York’s baseball teams head into the new year with similar outlooks.

They are both trying to get back to the playoffs, and what makes 2015 particularly intriguing is that for the first time, they will play three games at Citi Field in September, when one of them could knock the other out of postseason contention.

“On paper, when you look at them, the Yankees should be better,” said Al Leiter, who pitched for each team and now works as a broadcaster for YES, the Yankees’ television network. “Now I’ve got my YES cap on, but there’s reasons to be excited about the Mets with all that young pitching. They could be and should be a playoff team.”