The New York Mets may sell a minority stake in the team to help settle a lawsuit brought by those who lost money in Bernie Madoff's scheme, the team announced on Friday.

"To address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners," CEO Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon said in a statement.

The team said that majority ownership will remain the same.

"The Mets have been a major part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change," the statement said.

Madoff was convicted for fleecing investors of at least $20 billion in a Ponzi scheme. The trustee for the Madoff bankruptcy is going after the few people and groups who made money from Madoff, including the Mets. Court-appointed trustee Irving Picard has said the Mets made nearly $48 million in Madoff's scheme. He said the Mets originally invested about $523 million, but eventually withdrew about $571 million from the accounts.

The Wilpons have retained former deputy baseball commissioner Steve Greenberg to assist them.