Juan Soto assigns blame for disastrous Mets season

What became a disastrous season for the New York Mets will mercifully come to an end this coming Sunday afternoon. 

While speaking with Mike Puma of the New York Post following the Mets' 3-1 loss at the Texas Rangers on Thursday, star outfielder Juan Soto pointed a finger at himself for the current state of the club.

Juan Soto knows he has "to be better" for the Mets

"It’s definitely not what I imagined in my head," Soto said about the Mets' campaign, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "There is nothing I can do other than blame myself. I have got to be better. I have got to be at the level to take us forward."

Soto and shortstop Francisco Lindor were supposed to help carry the Mets after team president of baseball operations David Stearns controversially dismantled the core of the club's roster last offseason. Instead, separate calf injuries limited Soto to just 108 games through Thursday afternoon. Over those contests, he slashed .274/.393/.522 with an OPS of .915, 27 home runs and 68 RBI.

That said, Soto is optimistic about the future of a team that features young talents such as Carson Benge, fellow outfielder A.J. Ewing, potential ace Nolan McLean, starting pitcher Christian Scott and others. 

"We have a young core, and we have got to maintain that young core and encourage them to the right way, the right path for the future," Soto explained. "I think we are going in the right direction. Look at the young core and what they have been doing their first year in the big leagues. I think it’s real special. It’s always the first and second years are probably the toughest ones of your career, so what they’re doing, I think, is very special." 

Juan Soto sends message to Mets' front office

One can only guess what MLB will look like whenever the expected work stoppage comes to an end, and it's unclear how uncertainty related to the state of the league will impact what clubs do this coming fall. Soto made it clear that he wants Stearns and big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen to be aggressive in an attempt to engineer a quick turnaround for the franchise. 

"We should go and get as much as we can," Soto added. "We need as much help as we can get. It was a real tough year for us, so I think we have got to go out there and grab as much as we can."

The 73-86 Mets will begin a season-closing three-game series at the rival Washington Nationals (75-84) on Friday evening.