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The Mets are looking to make a free-agent splash under new owner Steve Cohen, but it appears they no longer are in contention for Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
“The Mets are not in on [Sugano],” The Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted Monday, confirming an earlier report by Jon Heyman that their “main focus is elsewhere.”
Sugano, whose deadline to sign with an MLB team is Thursday, also has been linked to the Giants, Blue Jays and Red Sox. The 31-year-old righty owns a career record of 101-50 with a 2.34 ERA over eight seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, who reportedly have offered him a four-year contract with multiple opt-outs to return to Japan.
Meanwhile, Cohen continues to interact with fans on social media about the Mets’ offseason activity. When one Twitter user wrote to him “There is no reason we should be out on Sugano,” Cohen replied Monday, “based on what.”
Another fan responded, “What exactly are we doing? Is [catcher] James McCann really going to be our biggest pickup this offseason? Please say no.”
Cohen then added: “Let me put it differently. Don’t you think someone will take our money? It just has to make sense.”
When another Twitter user tagged him in a post saying “”time to hibernate until Spring Training,” Cohen shot back, “That’s the spirit, just give up and go to sleep…I don’t need to be popular, I just need to make good decisions.”
Other available starting pitchers include Trevor Bauer, Masahiro Tanaka and Jake Odorizzi, while outfielder George Springer remains the marquee position player remaining on the free-agent market.
The Mets inked McCann to a four-year, $40.6 million deal in mid-December; they also signed reliever Trevor May earlier last month.
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