Just a few days ago, it appeared that the New York Mets could be headed for serious financial trouble; they were on their way to a court date that could have cost them over $300 million and forced Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax to testify.

Earlier Monday, the Mets reached a settlement in the Madoff trustee case that will cost them far less, and later in the day there was more good news. New York Daily News:

The owners of the Mets have closed deals to sell 12 shares of the team and have repaid their $25 million loan to Major League Baseball, a $40 million loan to Bank of America and additional club debt, according to sources familiar with the sale.

Among the buyers of the 12 shares is hedge-fund investor Steve Cohen, who is also among the bidders interested in buying the Dodgers. He can still buy the Dodgers if he’s the winning bidder, but would then have to divest the Mets minority share.

In any case, a team that just recently appeared in serious financial difficulty could be on its way to a more stable footing that could allow their owners to again become competitive on the field, which is the entire point of owning a baseball team.