Mets owner Fred Wilpon says he is free of past financial woes and that general manager Sandy Alderson has the financial flexibility to make major free-agent signings in upcoming offseasons.

Wilpon, 76, favorably settled a lawsuit brought by the trustee trying to recover funds for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

"It's all in the rear-view mirror," Wilpon said about past financial woes. "... The family is in great shape. The family really is in great shape. Sometimes luck is the residue of design."

Wilpon originally faced a $1 billion lawsuit regarding the Madoff scheme, but the settlement will result in the family ultimately having to pay no more than $60 million.