For most teams, a closer who punches people in the face and two of the worst players in the MLB (Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo) making a combined $18 million would be too much to handle. For the Mets, that barely breaks the surface, as owner Fred Wilpon is being sued for up to $1 billion for his reported involvement in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Although he said he will be “vindicated” because he, team COO Jeff Wilpon and team President Saul Katz knew nothing about the fraud, he has considered selling a minority stake in the team in order to fund a settlement.
Among those contacted was famed businessman Donald Trump, but the Mets have yet to reach an agreement on selling a minority stake. Trump is interested in buying a majority stake in the team, but Wilpon who wants to maintain control of the team said that won’t happen.
Trump taking a play out of LeBron James’ third person delivery style said:
“If you look at Trump’s record, he is only interested in things he can control.”
Other potential buyers, including Vitaminwater founder (and Queens native) Mike Repole have also admitted interest to buying a majority stake in the team.
Steve Greenberg, who is in charge of selling the minority stake in the team, has said things are going well, so the Mets likely have a number of potential buyers that haven’t made the cover of the New York papers.
With all the distractions and a seemingly makeshift pitching staff, it’s looking like another lost season for the Mets. Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and potentially Francisco Rodriguez (if he finishes less than 55 games this season) will all be free agents following this season. Castillo and Perez will also hit the market, freeing up a ton of money that the Mets could use to go after a number of free agents.
While 2011 will be the first year for the Mets new regime, it looks like Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins won’t be able to make an impact until 2012 when the Mets are free of bad contracts and ownership problems.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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