Both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets will be giving away free tickets to people who get vaccinated for the coronavirus.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the plan on Wednesday afternoon during a press conference. “If you get a vaccine. You get a free ticket to a Yankees or Mets game,” Cuomo said. “Next time you go to the game and you’re vaccinated, you can enjoy the game. Sitting next to your friend sitting next to your family, which to me is a big part of the enjoyment of the game.” This continues the governor’s efforts to have New Yorkers vaccinated.

The Yankees supported the governor’s effort and plan. “We want to thank Governor Cuomo for his decision, which will allow more fans into Yankees Stadium and provide us additional opportunities to further encourage people to get vaccinated,” the Yankees statement said. “If we can encourage more people to get vaccinated by giving away Yankees tickets, we are all in.”

The Mets were also behind the plan. “With this new opportunity for us, I think we will get more families to the ballpark; we’ll have more kids in the ballpark,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said.

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New York will allow the Mets and Yankees to host full-capacity sections of fans who are vaccinated. The seating in the stadiums will be split into two categories of fans, vaccinated and unvaccinated. The capacity of the sections will be fully opened up for vaccinated fans. The only requirement for vaccinated fans is that masks are to be worn. Children 15 and younger, who are not eligible for vaccine shots at this time, will be allowed to accompany their family in the vaccinated sections.

For unvaccinated fans, the sections will remain at 33% capacity and masks are required.

The Mets and Yankees are currently hosting fans at 20% capacity.

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On Tuesday morning, the New York Mets fired their general manager Jared Porter. This firing came the day after ESPN reported that Porter sent unsolicited, explicit text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016. During this time, Porter was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office.

The news of the firing broke on Tuesday as new team owner Steve Cohen tweeted that the Mets “have terminated Jared Porter this morning.” Cohen, 64, decided less than twelve hours after ESPN’s story broke, which described the graphic messages between Porter and the reporter.

Mets president Sandy Alderson, who made the hire of Porter last month, sent out a statement last night that said he spoke to Porter. “We [The Mets] will follow up as we review the facts regarding this serious issue.”

Alderson said it was the first time he had learned about the situation. Then, early Tuesday morning, Alderson released another statement that confirmed Porter’s firing.

“The New York Mets have terminated General Manager Jared Porter, effective immediately. Jared’s actions, as reflected by the events disclosed last night, failed to meet the Mets’ standards for professionalism and personal conduct.”

Porter, 41, was hired as the Mets GM in mid-December to work under Alderson in new owner Cohen’s front office. Porter joined the Mets from Arizona, where he served as the Diamondbacks’ senior vice president and assistant GM since 2017.

Before that, Porter was employed by the Boston Red Sox, where he worked up from intern to pro scouting director. He then joined the Chicago Cubs’ organization in 2015 as director of professional scouting. It was with the Cubs that Porter began texting the anonymous female reporter.

According to ESPN, the text relationship started casually until it got out of hand with compliments, texts inviting the woman to various cities, and photos of Porter’s bulge in the groin area. At one point, she ignored more than 60 messages from him before he sent a lewd photo of his genitals.

She responded, “This is extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line. Could you please stop sending offensive photos or msg.”

The female reporter was a foreign correspondent who moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball.

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The New York Mets have undergone some managerial shifts in recent weeks.

Mets new manager news

Terry Collins stepped down on Sunday after seven seasons in charge, and longtime pitching coach Dan Warthen and head trainer Ray Ramirez also parted ways with the franchise.

Collins has not left the Mets completely, however, as he will be serving as general manager Sandy Alderson’s special assistant.

Now, a former Met has emerged as a potential candidate to coach the Mets, whose bullpen has struggled in recent years.

John Franco, a 57-year-old former pitcher, has voiced a desire to manage the team.

Franco played 14 of his 20 major league seasons with the Mets (1990-2001, 2003-2004). His 1,119 career games pitched is an NL record, and he is ranked third in major league history with 424 career saves. Franco also played for the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds. 

According to the New York Post, the candidates who could replace Warthen — who had been the Mets’ pitching coach since June 2008 — include Mets bullpen coach Ricky Bones and minor league pitching coordinator Ron Romanick. “The Mets could also consider external candidates such as former Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland and former Oakland pitching coach Curt Young. Jim Hickey, who stepped aside as Rays pitching coach Tuesday, could also be considered for the job,” the Post reported.

“We will be adding staff as well as replacing Ray,” Alderson said. “But there will be a reorganization that I think will provide us with more capacity as well as different organizational structure. With regard to Ray and the decision to reorganize, we felt it was going to be difficult to retain Ray.”

Alderson added that Collins will focus on player development in his new position. The GM noted the number of players the Mets promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas this season.

“I was disappointed with the performance of some of these players and their preparation for playing at the major league level,” Alderson said. “This is an area I think Terry can be very helpful, so I expect that a good part of his time will be spent in the area of player development.”

Anderson also said hitting coach Kevin Long is expected to return, and that third-base coach Glenn Sherlock is under contract for next season.

NEW YORK – MAY 21: John Franco, former pitcher of the New York Mets, throws out the first pitch to former Met, Mike Piazza before the game against the New York Yankees on May 21, 2010 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline approaching, the flailing New York Mets must soon decide to become deadline dealers or acquirers. With a lousy record of 31-38 and in the wake of losing five of their last seven games – as of June 19 – the Mets are in no position to make the playoffs and should focus on rebuilding a farm system in need of a few tools.

Now, nothing is impossible and, as Mets GM Sandy Alderson noted over the weekend, the Mets only have to surpass two teams in order to get a Wild Card spot – he failed to note that the Mets are 12 and a half games out of that Wild Card spot. The Mets, with the condition of the injured Noah Syndergaard‘s return and about a dozen other miracles, could make the playoffs. But Alderson is a realist and realistically, this team has no chance.

With several decent players scheduled to hit free-agency this winter, the Mets have plenty of pieces to trade away. Both Jay Bruce and Lucas Duda could serve as potential treats for teams intent on making the final push to the playoffs. Additionally, at least in Duda’s case, the Mets are more than prepared to fill his spot in 2018. Currently, Triple-A first baseman Dominic Smith is projected as the number one prospect at his position. While the Mets don’t have a viable option at first if Duda is traded during the 2017 season, Wilmer Flores has spent a decent amount of time at the position and would fill in fine as the Mets stumble towards the season’s finish.

Alderson’s original plan for the team had them becoming contenders in 2016. They missed the mark, in a good way, and made an appearance in the World Series in 2015. While 2016 only resulted in a Wild Card loss, the rash of injuries the team experienced during the season seemed a valid excuse. But the Mets have been hit with even worse luck this season and whatever plan Alderson had for the next decade of Mets’ baseball has seemed to be thrown into the wind – his future ace, Zack Wheeler, spent two years on the DL and has a long way to go before even becoming a solid number 2, his fill-in ace, Matt Harvey, has proven himself to be a dud, his catcher of the future Travis d’Arnaud can’t hit, or catch, for that matter. Alderson even failed to plan for the emergence of his true ace in 2017, 2014 Rookie of the Year winner, Jacob deGrom.

In light of all that, it’s time for a new plan.

The Mets have used up their minor league pitching reserve, as is evident by the lackluster fill-ins in the wake of injuries to Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, and Harvey. Now would be a great time to get a pitching prospect, be him a starter or an even more needed reliever. The Mets could also use a second baseman, having traded away their top second base prospect Dilson Herrera in the trade that brought Bruce to New York in 2016. With current second baseman Neil Walker headed for free agency this winter, now would be the time to find a viable replacement.

The pieces are all there. The Mets have obvious holes to fill and have the pieces necessary to take the steps to fill them but it starts now, over the next month of baseball. The Mets need to admit to this failure of the season, regardless of whose fault it is, and plan for 2018. With a healthy pitching staff, a new first baseman, an improved bullpen, and the Amed Rosario era in full swing, the Mets can, and will, be contenders once again – and after only one short half of a year of rebuilding.

The days just got a bit dimmer for the Dark Knight.

New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey has decided to have surgery to address the thoracic outlet syndrome that appeared in his pitching shoulder this week, ending his 2016 season, according to his agent Scott Boras.

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition whereby symptoms are produced from compression of nerves or blood vessels, or both, because of an inadequate passageway through an area (thoracic outlet) between the base of the neck and the armpit, according to medicinenet.com.

The worst was expected for Harvey after the Mets announced Wednesday he would be headed back to the disabled list after an MRI revealed TOS in the shoulder. Harvey and team doctors did reportedly explore non-surgical options, such as nerve-blocking injections, but the Mets starter determined the injections would only be a temporary solution.

Harvey is expected to be completely healthy for the outset of the 2017 season, Boras told ESPN.

“The doctor’s recommended he have this done, mainly so he can be ready for ’17. The rehab on this is six months,” Boras said. “Now, if there was a small window in the season, you may be able to take a shot.”

“It’s actually Botox, which relaxes the muscles,” Boras said of the nerve-blocking injections, dispelling them as a viable option. “It’s not a long-term solution.”

Harvey finishes the season with a career-worst, 4.86 ERA to go with a 4-10 record in 2016.

He struggled through his first eight starts, having his ERA swell near 10, but Mets Manager Terry Collins elected to keep Harvey in the rotation, despite some discussion about sending him down to the minors to work out the kinks.

At that time, there was no concern about injury, with Harvey himself saying he was “100 percent healthy.”

“I’m not sure he was talked much about health,” Collins said before last night’s 9-7 win over the Washington Nationals. “I think he, you know, we were all talking of mechanical things and the other night was the first time I’ve heard anything about health.”

New York will turn to Logan Verrett to pick up the slack in the starting rotation.

Verrett, also a right-hander, has appeared in 23 games thus far this season, with five starts, a 3-5 record and a 4.01 ERA.

“My understanding is that, right now, it’s more of a neurological issue,” Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said Thursday. “Simply doing a block, a nerve block, doesn’t, to me at least, sound like a permanent solution.”

The Fourth of July was not the only holiday being celebrated this past weekend in the Greater New York City area.

Friday July 1 marked a lesser-known holiday that New York Mets fans wish never existed.

Still stumped?

It’s Bobby Bonilla Day!

OPINION: Mets Should Attempt To Extend Cespedes Via Bonilla-Like Contract

BOBBY BONILLA CONTRACT BREAKDOWN

Every July 1 until 2035, Bonilla collects over $1 million from the Metropolitans as a result of the contract he restructured with New York’s front office back in 1998.

Eager to clear their books of the $5.9 million the Mets owed Bobby Bo toward the end of his playing career, New York inked the six-time All-Star to a 25-year deal that began in 2011, which pays Bonilla $1,193, 248.20 every July.

Now, on week day after Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes became the first player to hit a home run into the third deck at Citi Field, New York might want to consider revisiting a sore spot in their financial history.

Cespedes is currently signed to a three-year, $75 million contract with New York through 2018, according to spotrac.com.

But the Cuban slugger can opt-out after the 2016 season, if he chooses, reopening the floodgates of free agency.

YOENIS CESPEDES 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

Now is the time for the Sandy Alderson, John Ricco and J.P. Ricciardi to get creative.

Let’s not forget that no one expected Cespedes to resign with the Mets after 2015 and yet, there he is, with his neon green arm band, smoking cigarettes in between innings at Citi Field once again.

With David Wright’s career, or at least his offense production, now over and Michael Conforto in Las Vegas attempting to rediscover his swing, New York doesn’t have any other viable options to plug into the middle of the order for the next five years.

Calm down everybody, Conforto will be back, but his ceiling is 30 homers and 100 runs batted in. And that’s his ceiling.

Cespedes is on a conservative pace to hit 37 HRs, drive in 105 runs and score 100 runs in 2016, all while showcasing elite arm strength from either center or left field. All this coming a year after he had 35 HRs, 105 RBI and 101 runs scored split between the Mets and Detroit Tigers in 2015.

Sure, Lucas Duda could return from his back injury and hit 30 homers and drive in 100 next season, just as easily as he could miss 50 games due to various injuries. Cespedes is the closest thing the Mets have to a sure bet.

What’s more, he WANTS to stay here.

“From my first day when I came here last season after the trade, that very first day … the fans showed incredible support, my teammates were so welcoming, as well as the full Mets organization,” Cespedes told reporters after signing with New York.

“I think that’s what encouraged me to make the decision to come back.”

Alderson spoke for all Mets fans when he told reporters, “It was a big relief for me.”

Now Alderson, who is currently battling cancer, will be faced with the same quandary at the close of 2016 when Cespedes will decide whether or not to opt out.

But what Bobby Bonilla, of all people, has taught New York’s front office can be used as a valuable lesson.

Just spit-balling here: Let’s say the Mets offer Cespedes $3 million per year, for 25 years, beginning in 2025.

Now 30, Cespedes’ career will likely be winding down, if not over by then, and he can still land an extremely lucrative contract in 2019 after his current deal with the Mets expires.

Of course, this is assuming that ‘La Potencia’ would forego his player option after the current season in order to remain with the Mets.

A 25-year, $75 million contract could offer Cespedes long-term stability, while paying immediate dividends for both parties on the field.

“It’s not always about the amount of money being offered. It’s about wanting to be in a place you want to play in, that you’re happy in,” Cespedes said through a translator back in February. “As you can see, this is just what happened in that case.”

It will take drastic measures to keep Cespedes in a Mets uniform.

But what everyone wants to paint as the worst contract in franchise history might be the Mets best bet to retain ‘The Power.’

Just months after engineering a series of trade deadline moves that catapulted the New York Mets to the World Series, general manager Sandy Alderson has been diagnosed with cancer.

The team confirmed that the diagnoses was made last month; the cancer is “very treatable” and Alderson will begin chemotherapy this week.

He will understandably miss Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, which take place in Nashville next week. His colleagues, however, are prepared to pick up the slack in his absence.

“We’ll have plenty of access to Sandy,” assistant general manager John Ricco said. “We talk to him all the time. He was with us the whole day with [free agent Ben] Zobrist the other day. So I don’t envision that being an issue. He’s a phone call away.

“The nature of our business is we’re all moving around a lot all the time. It’s not like your typical everybody shows up at nine o’clock in the morning, meets and then goes through their day. A lot of it is done by phone. A lot of it is done already that way. J.P. [Ricciardi, the special assistant to the general manager] and Paul [DePodesta,vice president of amateur scouting and player development] are out scouting. So that’s not going to be that big of an adjustment.”

Days after the season ended, Alderson collapsed after a press conference at Citi Field. He missed the GM Meetings a week later to undergo a medical procedure and during that procedure that doctors confirmed a cancer diagnosis

Photo: Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson attends batting practice prior to a game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on April 21, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has a lot to be happy about this past season with the Mets going to the World Series, even though they would lose to the Kansas City Royals on their home turf. With how the team was managed throughout the year, rewards were in favor of Mets manager Terry Collins, who received a two-year extension on his contract with the Mets. Alderson and Collins were on hand at Citi Field Wednesday to speak to the media about the extension.

When Alderson was speaking with reporters, he had abruptly stopped talking and collapsed to the floor. Reporters helped Alderson in not hitting the ground too hard and he gained consciousness after a minute on the floor and sat up as well. Before being led out of the room after the collapse, Alderson cracked a joke saying, “Where were we?”

After being checked out by team officials to make sure he was okay, they stated that he had skipped breakfast to be on time for the conference and got light-headed because of the hot lights used by television cameramen.

Photo: NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 21: Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson attends batting practice prior to a game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on April 21, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)