Mets fire GM Jared Porter after explicit text message exchanges

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The New York Mets have fired general manager Jared Porter, team owner Steve Cohen said Tuesday. The move came after the team investigated a report about explicit text messages Porter sent to a reporter in 2016.

"We have terminated Jared Porter this morning," Cohen tweeted. "In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it. There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior."

Porter's dismissal came hours after ESPN published a story on Monday night, which detailed and included screenshots of messages from the 2016 exchange. Porter was the Chicago Cubs director of professional scouting at the time of the exchange. Porter also confirmed to ESPN that he had messaged the reporter, who was a foreign correspondent.

ESPN obtained the messages in 2017, but did not report on the allegations at the time because the woman feared that it could harm her career.

"My No. 1 motivation is I want to prevent this from happening to someone else," she told ESPN. "Obviously, he's in a much greater position of power. I want to prevent that from happening again. The other thing is, I never really got the notion that he was truly sorry."

The Mets hired Porter on Dec. 13. Mets president Sandy Alderson said Monday that the team would review the messages sent by Porter.

"The New York Mets have terminated general manager Jared Porter, effective immediately," Alderson said Tuesday in a statement. "Jared's actions, as reflected by events disclosed last night, failed to meet the Mets' standards for professionalism and personal conduct."

Porter has served as an assistant general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks and a scouting executive for the Boston Red Sox, in addition to his tenures with the Cubs and Mets.

The Mets have yet to announce Porter's replacement. Zack Scott serves as the team's assistant general manager and was a finalist for the general manager role before the Mets hired Porter.

The Mets fired former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen in November. Van Wagenen had held the role since 2018.