The 2026 season was nothing like Juan Soto envisioned for himself or the Mets, and he put a lot of the team's woes this year on himself.

Speaking with Mike Puma of the NY Post prior to the Mets' 3-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday, the slugger said he needed to play better to get the team where they need to be.

“It’s definitely not what I imagined in my head,” Soto said. “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.”

The slugger boasts formidable numbers despite playing in just 108 games (with three still left to play), but two stints on the IL due to separate calf injuries played a part in the Mets missing out on the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Following Thursday's game, Soto is slashing .274/.393/.522 with an OPS of .915 to go along with his 27 home runs and 68 RBI.

But Soto missed a couple of weeks in April for his first calf injury, and then a month for the second in July/August. By the time he returned, the Mets sold at the trade deadline and the team was on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention.

Despite missing the postseason, Soto told The Post he likes the direction the Mets are headed, especially with its young core of Carson Benge, Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing and more.

“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 said. “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.”

But with expectations being high in 2027, Soto hopes the organization is active this offseason to add to the core of veterans that includes him and Francisco Lindor -- and potentially Bo Bichette if he opts in -- and the aforementioned young core so that Soto sees playoff baseball for the first time as a member of the New York Mets.

When Soto was asked about Tarik Skubal, a pending free agent and a fellow Scott Boras client, as a potential addition, the perennial All-Star said he wants to see the Mets bring in anyone who can help the team.

“We should go and get as much as we can,” Soto said. “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.”

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