MLB puts restrictions on team debt: report

New York Mets' Hu Chin-lung signs an autograph before their MLB spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida March 12, 2011.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major League Baseball has placed restrictions on the resale of debt issued by its teams in a bid to protect the New York Mets from being squeezed by investors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Citing people familiar with the league, the paper said the restrictions keep banks that hold $375 million in team debt from selling it to hedge funds without league approval.

An MLB spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The paper said the league did not want the team to fall victim to "vulture investors" who buy up distressed debt and then push for a restructuring.

The Mets' owners are trying to sell a minority stake in the team, which is under pressure because of lawsuits by the trustee in the Madoff Ponzi scheme case against the team's owners.

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Gary Hill)