A text message made a major difference in one man’s life.

Former New York Mets general manager Jared Porter is admitting to sending an inappropriate text message, that played a role in him losing his job. Porter says he sent a sexually explicit message to a reporter, while he was working for the Chicago Cubs in 2016. That led to him eventually getting fired from the Mets.

“It was an inappropriate relationship for a lot of reasons, you know, both for me personally and also, of course, with the reporter,” Porter said, per the Associated Press. “So I want to be very accountable about that as I talk through it. But, yeah, when the article first came out, you know, it’s crazy, just a tremendous amount of fear, you know, shame. You know, there’s some people I reached out to.

“Obviously, I talked with my wife, my family, you know, and my co-workers at the time at the Mets about the situation but, yeah, it was obviously a really tough moment but, you know, I — like I said, like, being accountable, like I put myself in that situation. You know, I made the decision to send the text message that I sent, and I certainly shouldn’t have done it.”

Porter served as GM for the Mets for only 38 days, after the story broke about the incident. He was relieved of his duties with the Mets in 2021.

“Look, I was really enjoying my time at the Mets, working with Sandy and Steve and the group they’d put together. You know, they gave me the opportunity to be a general manager, which was an incredible opportunity,” he added.

The Mets moved on from Porter and were able to put a winning club together. New York reached the NLCS just a few years after his firing, in the 2024 season.

Mets making moves to win a World Series once again

New York is now working with new leadership, including David Stearns who is president of baseball operations. His job along with the team owner Steve Cohen is to build a roster that will win a World Series.

The top target for the Mets to be able to do that is New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto. Cohen met with Soto this offseason in California, to try and entice him to join the Mets. The meeting reportedly went well, but Soto hasn’t announced his intentions yet. He’s by far the biggest target in the free agent market, as multiple teams are pushing for Soto.

The Mets started the 2024 season with a rocky beginning; the team lost its first five games. New York soon found its stride, and the team made it all the way to the NLCS. New York bowed to the Los Angeles Dodgers in that series, in six games.

New York last won a World Series in the 1986 season.