NEW YORK – In a cost-cutting move, the debt-ridden New York Mets will cut one of their minor league teams next season, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
After the elimination of its Port St. Lucie affiliate in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, the Mets will have Rookie teams in Kingsport, Tenn., and at their facility in the Dominican Republic.
Mets players who would have spent next season in the Gulf Coast League will be dispersed among Kingsport and the Dominican Republic.
Though the Mets still will have eight farm teams -- more than most franchises -- the elimination of the club is just the latest belt-tightening measure by the cash-strapped franchise. Recently, general manager Sandy Alderson indicated the Mets lost $70 million last season.
In November, the Mets laid off about 10 percent of their front office staff. Last winter the team also axed several workers in the ticket office after the Mets incurred about $50 million in losses in 2010.
Alderson also is overseeing a purge that will drop the Mets' payroll to $100 million or lower next season. The Mets' payroll for 2011 was about $140 million.
The Mets also have Single-A teams at St. Lucie, Savannah and Brooklyn; a Double-A team at Binghamton and a Triple-A team in Buffalo.
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