The 2023 MLB season is only one week old, so the New York Mets are not going to panic over their ugly start to the campaign. However, there are reasons for concern.

Despite extremely high expectations, the Mets have opened the season with a 3-4 record. After taking three of four in Miami against the Marlins, the Mets fell flat against stiffer competition in Milwaukee, where they were swept by the Brewers. The Mets were shut out the first two games before losing on a Garrett Mitchell walk off home run Wednesday. New York was outscored 26-6 by Milwaukee in this series.

Yet, even the best of teams slump during the course of a 162-game MLB season. It certainly stands out more if the season begins with a rough patch, though. Such is the case with the Mets. With that being said, let’s examine three early concerns for the Mets amid their forgettable start to the 2023 MLB season.

Injuries are piling up already for the Mets

This concern is not really in the Mets control. But it’s becoming a major problem.

A week into the season, the Mets have burned through their bullpen depth already. Seven relief pitchers are on the injured list, including Edwin Diaz (knee surgery) and Bryce Montes de Oca (Tommy John surgery) who are both out for the 2023 season now.

Tommy Hunter allowed five runs in two innings Monday against the Brewers and landed on the IL the next day. Jeff Brigham also was shut down this week after beginning the season at Triple-A Syracuse as well.

Sam Coonrod is expected to miss several months with a lat injury. Swingman Elieser Hernandez and hard-throwing minor league right-hander Stephen Ridings are on the IL, too.

The Mets do not have a healthy relief pitcher on the 40-man roster, outside of those currently on the 26-man roster. That is rather suboptimal to say the least.

Starters Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana are also sidelined. Verlander had an MRI on his right shoulder/armpit Wednesday and inflammation has gone down. He’ll continue to throw on the side but remains out. Quintana won’t return until July at the earliest.

Catcher Omar Narvaez was removed from the loss Wednesday with a calf injury, and is now going to be out for the next eight-to-nine weeks. Francisco Alvarez has been called up to fill in for Narvaez during his stint on the injured list, but being without Narvaez will only add to the Mets woes. Brett Baty has inflammation in his surgically-repaired thumb too and is day-to-day at Triple-A.

Did we mention it’s only one week into the season?

Max Scherzer, Mets starters struggling early

With their depth being tested in the starting rotation and bullpen, the Mets need Max Scherzer to step up and set the tone that all will be fine. Except Scherzer hasn’t been so good through two starts. And the rotation has wobbled behind him.

Scherzer has allowed eight runs and four home runs in 11.1 innings through his first two starts. He was hit hard throughout his start Tuesday in Milwaukee, even before the Brewers crushed three consecutive bombs against him and knocked him out of the game in the sixth inning.

Scherzer was better, though far from dominating, in an Opening Day win against the Marlins. Simply put, Scherzer hasn’t looked like an ace to this point. Worse, he’s been rocked in the sixth inning of each start, perhaps becoming fatigued earlier than he typically has throughout his splendid career. It bears watching.

Behind him are David Peterson and Tylor Megill, each filling spots in the rotation with Verlander and Quintana sidelined. Neither has thrown more than five innings in a start through their three combined outings — a small sample size, but concerning because each starter has struggled with control and walks, racking up sizable pitch counts and taxing the bullpen.

It seemed Peterson fell behind in a 3-1 count to almost every Brewers batter he faced Wednesday. He was yanked in the fifth inning and allowed five runs, five hits and five walks on an inefficient 92 pitches.

Worse was veteran Carlos Carrasco, who looked all of his 36 years of age when getting mauled by the Brewers on Monday. Carrasco appeared gassed by the fourth inning, and his four-seam fastball didn’t top 90 MPH in his final two innings of work. Yikes.

Even Kodai Senga, who had a winning MLB debut Sunday against the Marlins, raised eyebrows by throwing 36 pitches in the first inning. Perhaps chalk that up to nerves but keep in mind that control was always an issue for him in Japan.

The bullpen gets a needed day off Thursday since the Mets home opener against the Marlins was postponed by bad weather. David Robertson and company have largely been better than the starters, despite being overworked out of the gate. There have been cracks, though. Hunter surrendered a grand slam earlier this week. Brooks Raley was rocked in relief of Scherzer Tuesday. Drew Smith coughed up a lead Wednesday. And Adam Ottavino allowed the walk off to Mitchell.

Mets offense has sputtered, failed to bail out pitching staff

The Mets looked lifeless at the plate when they were shut out on consecutive days this week by the Brewers. And it’s not exactly like they tore the cover off the ball in Miami, despite winning that series. They’re averaging 3.3 runs per game, down from 4.8 in 2022.

Perhaps the biggest concern is how they were stifled by Marlins left-hander Juan Lazardo and Brewers lefty Wade Miley. The Mets struggled against left-handed starters in 2022 and largely have the same lineup and roster of position players back this season. So, perhaps this is an early red flag.

There were some good signs Wednesday, though. Pete Alonso snapped out of a 3-for-23 funk by blasting a pair of two-run home runs. Francisco Lindor had three hits, including two doubles, and two RBIs after a slow start. Starling Marte had one hit and was robbed of two others when the Brewers made two terrific diving catches.

The Mets scored six runs on seven hits Wednesday. That should be good enough on most days to win. And the Mets lineup is full of professional hitters who work pitchers and grind out at-bats. They’re going to hit and score runs in general. But will they do so consistently against left-handed pitching? That’s an area to be concerned about.