MLB

Mets owner Wilpon has no plans to sell

PORT ST. LUCIE — Even as sharks continue to surround the lifeboat, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon guarantees he and his family will reach shore.

The 75-year-old Mets patriarch made his initial appearance of spring training yesterday and said he has no plans to sell the team despite its recent financial troubles and the fact his family is embroiled in a clawback lawsuit by the trustee for victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

“I’m OK — I’ve got fives,” Wilpon joked, as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a roll of bills.

“[Fans] shouldn’t be concerned about us owning the franchise, because we intend to own the franchise for a very long time. Whether they’re happy about that right now, I don’t know.”

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Wilpon said the Mets have seven commitments in place in their effort to sell 10 shares of the club and raise $200 million in capital. The Mets would use much of that money to repay loans, including one to Major League Baseball for $25 million and a bank loan for $40 million, but Wilpon said he intends to reinvest leftover money in the team.

Four of the shares in the team, Wilpon confirmed, have been sold to SNY, the sports network in which Wilpon and his partners own 65 percent. Wilpon also said his family bought two of the shares. He did not identify other investors, although billionaire hedge-fund investor Steve Cohen reportedly will get a piece of the team.

“We have seven [groups] whose money is in escrow, because they’ve been through Major League Baseball,” Wilpon said. “We have two that are ready to almost finalize in Major League Baseball and a couple of others that are in the process. And we hope to be able to close that out shortly.”

Though the Mets lost $70 million in 2011, Wilpon said the decision to slice the payroll from $140 million to about $90 million was as much a baseball decision as a financial one.

“We cut a lot of payroll that wasn’t producing,” Wilpon said. “If you look at the payroll now, it’s fluid. Many of the people that were not producing are not here.”

Wilpon also briefly addressed the Madoff clawback lawsuit that is scheduled for trial next month. The trustee, Irving Picard, originally sought $1 billion from Wilpon and his brother-in-law Saul Katz. If the suit isn’t dismissed, Wilpon and Katz would be on the hook for anywhere between $83 million and $386 million.

“When it started, there was a really big number out there,” Wilpon said. “Now it’s down — I’m not minimizing it — but it’s down to a different number. So I think the next couple of weeks will tell. Whether there’s a trial or no trial, we’ll see. I think that things are going to become a lot clearer in the next months.”

Wilpon deferred to general manager Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins when asked about David Wright’s future with the club. The Mets do not have Wright in their control beyond the 2013 season.

“Sandy Alderson has a great feel for this, and so does Terry,” Wilpon said. “If it works out, I would be thrilled. He’s just a very fine young man. Any of us old enough to have him as a son would be proud to have him as a son.”

Wilpon also predicted his club will surprise people this season and keep things interesting.

“I think we have very good players,” Wilpon said. “I think that some of them didn’t perform the way they would have liked last year and I think they have something to prove.

“I’ve been around 33 years and I know it’s hard to tell in spring training, but we’re very optimistic.”

mpuma@nypost.com