Mets eye Giolito, Imanaga

AFTER striking out while bidding $325M on superstar right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it’s still uncertain if the rival Mets will pursue top remaining freeagent starters Jordan Montgomery and NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who are also drawing interest from the Angels, Giants, Phillies, Red Sox and others.

The Mets have been linked more to the next tier of freeagent starters, including Shota Imanaga and Lucas Giolito, but it’s worth wondering whether deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen would accept entering the season — Pete Alonso’s walk year — as only a marginally competitive team.

Giolito, who’s also getting big interest from the Red Sox, had a rough finish to 2023 after his divorce (and two trades) but he’s a rare free agent coming off his age-30 season or younger with five straight 175-strikeout seasons (prorating 2020).

The Mets made a big effort for Yamamoto, and while they declined to do the $50M signing bonus, the suspicion here is they never had a real chance. It was written here months ago Yamamoto may have had a West Coast bias, and nothing was said to dispute that at Yamamoto’s Dodgers press conference . ...

The Mets and Angels are eying top free-agent DH J.D. Martinez. His old Diamondbacks team also seeks a hitter. Justin Turner is another who fits all those teams . ...

The Yankees would like to bring back Montgomery but it’s less clear how involved they are in Snell, at least for now . ...

The Phillies made a real attempt for Yamamoto — their presentation drew praise — and with a recent history of smart free-agency plays remain in play to sign another top free-agent starter, including Montgomery and Snell . ...

The Rangers made sense as a match for Montgomery, a key to beating the rival Astros in the ALCS, but their local TV issue may have put big expenditures on hold for now.