The Dodgers’ Juan Soto pipe dream just got doused with…

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on top of the baseball world right now. Andrew Friedman and Co. dropped a cool billion dollars to bring Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and other stars to Chavez Ravine, then watched as his team steamrolled the New York Yankees to capture a World Series title. They have the money, they have one of — if not the — best player development machines in the sport and, most importantly, they have the Commissioner’s Trophy in tow.

So it came as no surprise when whispers began to circulate that the Dodgers might make a run at Juan Soto in free agency this winter. L.A. shot the moon last offseason and got rewarded with a title, so why not try it again? Payroll is never an object, especially not with Ohtani deferring most of his contract, and the Dodgers can pitch Soto on making oodles of money in a great market with great weather while playing for the league’s model franchise. It all seemed so crushingly inevitable; of course Los Angeles would get its way; they’re the Dodgers, after all.

Feinsand then went on to say that Soto doesn’t appear interested in heading back to South California, adding: “Word is that Soto prefers to stay on the East Coast, which would be an obstacle for the Dodgers or any other West Coast club.”

This is consistent with reporting that surfaced back in October, when word first started getting around that Soto preferred to be on the East Coast. His agent, Scott Boras, quickly tried to shoot that notion down, but that always seemed more like posturing to ensure maximum leverage rather than anything coming from Soto himself. Soto seemed to connect with New York during his one season with the Yankees, and has spent almost his entire professional career in the Northeast. Combine that familiarity with the two New York teams’ ability (and motivation) to outbid any other suitors, and it seems like a safe bet that Soto won’t be leaving Gotham any time soon.