Amazin’s out of the running for Japan’s Sugano
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 optouts 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 freeagent 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.
The Mets haven’t made a significant splash in the Japanese market since signing Kaz Matsui in the early 2000s. Just the fact the Mets showed interest in Sugano perhaps signifies a shift in philosophy with regard to the international market under Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson.
One MLB evaluator recently framed Sugano’s talent level as somewhere between Masahiro Tanaka, when the right-hander was at his peak pitching in Japan, and Kenta Maeda.
Trevor Bauer is the top free-agent option available on the market, but it’s unclear whether the Mets are willing to break the bank for last season’s National League Cy Young Award winner. Tanaka, Odorizzi and James Paxton are middle of the rotation options that could make sense for the Mets, who ideally could use two starters, allowing them to return Seth Lugo to the bullpen.
As it stands, the Mets have Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, David Peterson and Lugo ticketed for the rotation, with Steven Matz perhaps in the mix for a starting role. Lugo was moved to the rotation last season out of need but has performed at a much higher level from the bullpen in his career.