It sounds like a punch line: Fred Wilpon, the majority owner of the Mets, is the new chairman of Major League Baseball’s finance committee.

Wilpon was a victim of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and has slashed the payroll of a team that has struggled significantly with debt. Faced with a cash shortfall in 2010, the Mets borrowed $25 million from Major League Baseball.

Commissioner Rob Manfred — whose predecessor, Bud Selig, was a strong Wilpon ally — defended Wilpon and clarified his responsibilities.

“I understand the whole Madoff thing,” Manfred said, “but before and since, Fred Wilpon was an extraordinarily successful businessman. The committee — the finance and compensation committee — really deals with two issues, principally: executive compensation, which he’s more than capable of dealing with, and a central office budget. Obviously, to be a successful businessman, you have to know how to budget.”