Greenberg will handle partial sale of Mets

At this crucial juncture in their ownership, the Wilpons are turning to baseball's ultimate insider. Steve Greenberg, son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg and dealmaker extraordinaire, will run the effort to sell a minority stake in the Mets.

On the surface, it seems like an extremely difficult task. Greenberg must find someone - or multiple people - to invest huge dollars in a downward baseball franchise without getting any operating control.

But there's a reason the Wilpons called upon Greenberg, 62, who has a long history of success in both baseball and the greater business world.

The former deputy commissioner of Major League Baseball, Greenberg is the managing director of Allen & Company. He helped the Mets land their $400-million naming-rights deal for Citi Field and played a significant role in the formation of the MLB Network.

This will rank as another immense challenge for a man who has grown accustomed to them.

"It is generally held that there's a premium attached to selling control of an asset, but that premium can vary,'' Greenberg said Friday in a Mets conference call. "We've been involved with the Mets for the better part of a decade. We're going to accept incoming calls, and there'll be a lot of them, and we'll explore some outgoing calls, too.''