MLB

Mets laugh off Gerrit Cole mystery team proposition

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen laughed and then dismissed the proposition that his club was one of the two mystery teams lingering in the pursuit for ace Gerrit Cole.

“I think from our standpoint, we’ve never talked publicly about free agents that we are or are not on, but he’s a good pitcher and I’m sure many teams are interested in him but for us, we feel good about the front-end of our rotation,” Van Wagenen told reporters Tuesday at the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego. “We’ll try to be optimistic elsewhere.”

The Mets were never expected to go after Cole, even after losing Zach Wheeler to the Phillies in free agency. They likely will look for cheaper options to fill out the rotation behind back-to-back Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman.

Instead the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers are among the front-runners for Cole, the 29-year-old righthander who is expected to shatter the contract record for MLB pitchers with a possible $300 million deal.

Cole’s agent, Scott Boras, said earlier in the day that a pair of mystery teams are also in the hunt for his client. One is believed to be Cole’s former team, the Astros, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.