Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports Tweets that the New York Mets have contacted free agent Jerry Hairston Jr. Hairston could be used as a fill-in for Carlos Beltran in center field or Jose Reyes at shortstop. Beltran had surgery this week and could miss the start of the season.

The New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics and two other teams have pursued Hairston this off-season. Rosenthal reported last week that Hariston had offers in hand, even some that were multi-year deals.

Hairston, 33, hit 10 home runs, drove in 39 RBI’s and had a .251 batting average with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees in 2009. He had a salary of $2 million. You can see Hairston’s contract history and statistics here.