Mets owner Steve Cohen has been hosting players at his Connecticut home as a way to learn more about them and the team, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Cohen has reportedly had dinners with Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Marcus Stroman. He has plans to invite more players when schedules match up.
Food has surrounded Cohen in his brief tenure as owner. Prior to the season, Cohen announced the Chick-Fil-A sponsorship on the foul pole in right field would be removed, he joked with fans asking if they would prefer Carvel ice cream or black jerseys. He then had a multiple day saga about what he and Francisco Lindor ate at a South Beach restaurant before signing his $341 million contract.
A source told The Post, the dinners are designed to speed up Cohen’s baseball education and humanize his relationships with his employees. He wants to establish a better organizational bond and culture
The dinners are an outlet for Cohen to learn more about the day-to-day of baseball life. Until he became the owner, Cohen was just a fan. It’s similar to what he would do at his hedge fund.
Including Stroman, the Mets have Noah Syndergaard and Michael Conforto scheduled to be free agents next year. Cohen likely wants to meet with those two before the season ends.
