Mets owner Steve Cohen addresses team's lackluster start

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen isn't yet panicking about his club's lackluster start to the 2023 MLB season. 

"This is a good team that is underperforming right now," Cohen told Jon Heyman of the New York Post via text. "It’s unlikely to keep underperforming. While it doesn’t feel good when the team goes through a stretch like this, I believe that as our pitching improves our record will get better. We need more length out of our starters." 

Cohen vowed shortly after he assumed ownership of the Mets in the fall of 2020 he would consider it "slightly disappointing" if the franchise failed to win a World Series "in the next three to five years." The big-spending owner has since assembled baseball's most-expensive club, but that squad began Tuesday at 17-18 on the young season. 

According to ESPN stats, the Mets are ranked 22nd with a team ERA of 4.74, and New York's offense is 18th with a .708 team OPS. Perhaps the best news for the Amazins as it pertains to this year's postseason tournament is that they entered Tuesday's MLB action trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings by only seven games. 

While Cohen was able to joke about infielder Luis Guillorme pitching "well"  this spring, the owner probably isn't laughing about the state of the club's rotation. 

Max Scherzer looked like a 38-year-old in the twilight of his prime across his first five starts, served a 10-game suspension related to the use of foreign substances and is trying to pitch through apparent discomfort "around his shoulder blade." Justin Verlander was out of action through April with a strained shoulder and has logged a single start. Jose Quintana (stress fracture in his rib) and Carlos Carrasco (issue with throwing elbow) are both sidelined. 

The Mets open a three-game series at the 14-20 Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday evening. Cohen may have to answer more than text messages if his club fails to win at least two of those contests.