Why Steve Cohen is inviting Mets stars over for dinner

Steve Cohen has been holding individual dinners at his Connecticut home with Mets players as a way — among other things — to improve his learning curve about them and the dynamics of the team, The Post has learned.

Late last month, in the days before finalizing a 10-year, $341 million contract with Francisco Lindor, Cohen hosted a dinner in West Palm Beach with the star shortstop — even joking via Twitter that his ravioli was not very good. But that dinner was pertinent for the moment with Lindor having established Opening Day on April 1 as a deadline to get an extension done or else he would not negotiate until the offseason and free agency. The dinners that Cohen is hosting in Connecticut reflect more on the new Mets owner’s desire to speed up his baseball education, let employees know the ultimate decision-maker cares about them and to humanize the relationship, a source familiar with the dinners told The Post.