Jared Porter Reflects on His Firing from the Mets

Jared Porter, former general manager of the New York Mets, has publicly addressed his firing for the first time. During an episode of the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast released on Friday, Porter acknowledged sending an inappropriate text message to a reporter while he was an executive with the Chicago Cubs in 2016. This incident led to his dismissal from the Mets in 2021, just 38 days after his hiring.

Porter was brought on board by the Mets from the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 13, 2020, but was fired on January 19, 2021, following an ESPN report that detailed his sending of sexually explicit, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter.

"It was an inappropriate relationship for a lot of reasons, both personally and professionally," Porter admitted. "When the article first came out, it was a tremendous amount of fear and shame. I talked with my wife, family, and co-workers at the Mets about the situation. It was a really tough moment, but I put myself in that situation by sending the text message, and I certainly shouldn't have done it."

Porter also mentioned that due to the coronavirus pandemic, he never met Mets owner Steve Cohen in person or visited his office at Citi Field. He expressed understanding and acceptance of the decision made by Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson to fire him.

"I was really enjoying my time at the Mets, working with Sandy and Steve and the group they put together. They gave me the opportunity to be a general manager, which was incredible," Porter said. "They had to make the best decision for the New York Mets when the article came out, and I knew they would. I hold zero ill will toward them. It's unfortunate that I put myself and them in that situation."

​Porter's reflections highlight the personal and professional consequences of his actions and his acceptance of responsibility for the incident.