Timing of Yankees' Juan Soto meeting clearly meant nothing after latest update

For anyone attempting to read the tea leaves off limited data, it turns out the Yankees don't get the "final word" after all with Juan Soto -- at least, not yet in the wake of Monday's meeting.

Instead, not only do Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman not go last, but they get the honor of immediately preceding the scariest team in the sport.

While the incumbent Yankees have perhaps the least to sell (Soto's already experienced their atmosphere and found great success in their ballpark), they still must prove their financial competence and display a willingness to match any and all offers. And while the Mets' muscles and Red Sox history both make for tempting packages, there's no MLB team quite as enticing as the Dodgers, the only franchise to get further than the Yankees did in 2024.

According to Jon Heyman on Monday, the Yankees' meeting with Soto went "very well" (phew), but the Dodgers now lurk on the horizon Tuesday, adding themselves into the fray. There's also some variety of mystery team that has yet to receive a meeting, but has expressed serious enough interest to be noted.

Guess the Yankees weren't the "last meeting" after all, and there was no inherent advantage for New York based on the initial timeline? "Very impressive," indeed.

Free agent Juan Soto to meet with Dodgers Tuesday after Yankees meeting Monday

Look on the bright side. At least they have the inside track with Teoscar Hernández now.

The Dodgers wouldn't have the money to be involved if Shohei Ohtani hadn't deferred massive chunks of his 2024 contract, Tom Brady-style, into infinity. Now, the Dodgers have the financial flexibility to give Soto the Ohtani-topping contract he might desire. They have a hole in the outfield (perhaps two), and have already moved Mookie Betts back to second base. Quite frankly, they can do whatever they want to.

Soto, in the past, is said to have preferred East Coast options, but when the Dodgers want to meet (and, at least, put a scare into the field), you don't say no. Even beyond the Dodgers, the mystery team still has the potential to bum the Yankees out further, especially if it's the Phillies, a team that has stayed bizarrely silent through this whole endeavor. They have a recent history of winning, a cavalcade of stars, deep pockets, and Soto's old hitting coach Kevin Long. Why not them?

Regardless of whether the Dodgers push forward or someone else takes the ball and runs with it, the bottom line is the Yankees "wrapping up" the first slate of four meetings meant absolutely nothing. They didn't get an obvious "chance to match." They didn't stop the timeline in its tracks with a heart-stopping offer. They just had a "get to know you" with someone they already know, then passed him off to the team that just whipped them.