New York Mets owner Steve Cohen got brutally honest on Juan Soto's early-season struggles. While the franchise's blockbuster acquisition this past offseason is off to a slow start, his new team certainly isn't. The Mets have the best record in the MLB at 20-9 and are more than four games up on every team in the NL East. New York is certainly looking like the World Series contender it was expected to be heading into this season.

However, Steve Cohen knows that Soto needs to be better than his current .248 average and three home runs. In a recent interview with the New York Post, the Mets owner broke down the sluggers' issues so far.

“If you ask him he’d probably say it’s not going as what he hoped. That’s not what his back of his baseball card would say. But saying that, there’s a lot of subtle things he does that really think matters. The way he works the count makes pitchers throw extra pitches really matters. Then he gets on base and Pete can drive him in. So Pete’s seeing better pitches. So you know it’s very subtle how that works and you can’t just look at it as in a very narrow sense. Saying that, I’m not worried about Juan, he’s singly focused on baseball. He’s a pure hitter and lets have this discussion at the end of the year.”

Mets fans have seen star acquisitions struggle and gain their rhythm before

Related New York Mets NewsArticle continues below
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates with left fielder Brandon Nimmo (9) after hitting a home run during the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park.
Mets’ Brandon Nimmo expresses ‘confidence’ in Juan Soto amid hustle criticism
New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Carlos Mendoza reveals what Mets need amid brutal hitting slump
Featured image Mets Steve Cohen
Mets’ Steve Cohen gives reassuring message amid 3-game losing streak
New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) singles during the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Mets fans don't need to go too far back to know to be patient with their newest acquisitions. Francisco Lindor went from looking like a bust of signing in his New York tenure to becoming an MVP candidate. With Juan Soto's track record, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. The four-time All-Star has been successful everywhere he's played. Most recently, Soto was with the New York Yankees, where he was named First-team All-MLB and won his fifth Silver Slugger award.

Overall, there's no need to panic, and the fact that the Mets already look this good is very encouraging. This is a team that should grow into the season, just as it did last year. Except, now New York is no longer the underdog. The franchise is one of the prime contenders in the National League and is expecting to return to the NLCS. It's a long road back to that stage, but gaining a huge lead in the division is a great start.