Mets owner Steve Cohen talks contract extensions, black alternate jerseys in Q&A with fans

Steve Cohen said the Mets are in ongoing talks to extend Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto and Noah Syndergaard, but that the two sides have yet to meet in the middle.

In a far-ranging YouTube Q&A where the Mets’ billionaire owner answered questions submitted by fans on Twitter, Cohen said that Conforto and Lindor were his primary focus, since Syndergaard, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, isn't expected back in game action until mid-season.

"It’s hard to know exactly how they’re all going to turn out," Cohen said Monday evening. "It takes two people to sign a contract, not one. We’re focused on Francisco and Michael – those are the ones that are sort of immediate things that we have to deal with."

Cohen also revealed that the team would be reintroducing the early aughts black alternate jerseys for a handful of games throughout the season. The jerseys, which were fan favorites and were worn during some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including Robin Ventura's grand slam single in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, were in rotation from 1998 to 2012. They’ll be coming back "with absolute certainty," Cohen said, "and you’ll be able to buy those jerseys."

Additionally, Cohen said that they’ll look to continue to honor the team’s past. In addition to a statue dedicated to Tom Seaver and Ron Darling’s induction into the Mets’ Hall of Fame, the organization will introduce Old Timer’s Day in 2022.

"I'll let my baseball and organizational people kind of figure out exactly what the theme is going to be but 100%" are the Mets going to do it, Cohen said. "It's another example of celebrating our history. The fans want to see the players from different eras and I think that would be a fun, exciting day."

The Mets will also be looking at more Saturday day games – something that they’ve veered away from in recent years – in an attempt to attract more kids to the ballpark, Cohen said.

And while Cohen spoke about more noticeable changes in his Q&A, the Athletic revealed early Monday that was also trying to shake things up in a different way.

Cohen has hired law firm WilmerHale to conduct an external investigation of the organization’s workplace culture – this in the wake of allegations of sexual impropriety against at least three former Mets personnel: former general manager Jared Porter, who was fired earlier this year, former manager Mickey Callaway, who is still under investigation by Major League Baseball, and former minor league coordinator Ryan Ellis. Most of these occurred during the Wilpon era and, though Porter was a recent hire, he engaged in inappropriate behavior when he was with the Cubs.

In an email, which was sent on March 19 and obtained by the Athletic, Cohen referenced the allegations that have plagued the Mets these past few months, writing: "Let me be clear – there is no place in our organization for such conduct."

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.