Shohei Ohtani hasn't made a decision about where he'll play baseball next season, but don't expect his home games to be in the Big Apple.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, a "clubhouse source" reportedly said Ohtani "specifically said he couldn't see himself playing in New York, which is also what he told the Yankees six years ago before signing with the Angels. (Ohtani's handlers say no such sentiment was expressed to the Yankees or Mets during the process this time.)"

Heyman added that Ohtani has met with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants, and those three teams are the frontrunners alongside his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Chicago Cubs.

Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts was pretty candid when asked about whether his club has held a meeting with the superstar slugger and pitcher, telling reporters he was the team's "top priority."

"I like to be honest," he added. "Yeah, we met with Shohei, we talked. And I think it went well. I think it went well. But at the end of the day, he's his own man. And he's going to do what's best for himself, where he feels most comfortable."

As for the Yankees, the team has been linked to Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency and Juan Soto in trade rumors. A big splash was always coming, and that was before they stunned baseball by acquiring Alex Verdugo in a trade with their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox, for pitchers Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

There were a few ways to look at that deal—it either meant the team's pursuit for Soto had come to a close, it was a move to get them closer to a trade package the San Diego Padres would want... or it didn't affect their pursuit of Soto at all. The latter option was the most reported:

Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 @JimBowdenGM

Don't be surprised if the <a href="">#Yankees</a> now try to spin Verdugo in a package with King and Thorpe to the <a href="">#Padres</a> to try and land Juan Soto ....

Jeff Passan @JeffPassan

The acquisition of Alex Verdugo should not take the Yankees out of the Juan Soto sweepstakes. New York has sought left-handed outfield bats, and Soto is the best one in MLB. You don't stop chasing stars.

Jon Heyman @JonHeyman

Juan Soto (or Cody Bellinger) still in play for Yankees even after Verdugo deal. If it's Soto, Judge presumably plays CF

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale

The Yankees still are in play for another outfielder with Juan Soto remaining their first choice

Both the Yankees and Mets came into the offseason needing to make some major changes after incredibly disappointing 2023 campaigns.

The Yankees have seemed more likely to go star-hunting, given the rumors surrounding them, while the Mets' fire sale ahead of the in-season trade deadline—and various indications that 2024 would be a transition year, not a "make an expensive splash" sort of year—suggests they'll be headed down a more subdued path.

Granted, either team would likely jump at the chance to sign a once-in-a-lifetime superstar like Ohtani. But it doesn't sound as though New York is his preferred destination.