According to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review, the New York Mets are among the numerous teams that have called the Pittsburgh Pirates to show interest in utility guy Josh Harrison.
He also states that the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are interested. The Yankees have recently had discussions with the Pirates that include right-handed starter Gerrit Cole as well.
Harrison is a two-time All-Star, including a trip to the Mid-Summer Classic this past season. With the Bucs in 2017, he appeared in 128 games and hit to a .272/.339/.432 clip with 16 homers and 47 RBI.
The 30-year-old Harrison will make $10 million on 2018 then has club options for both 2019 ($10.5M, $1 buy-out) and 2020 ($11.5M, $500K buy-out).
Harrison played second base, third base, left field and right field in 2017. He spent the most time at second, however, posting 6 DRS and a 0.3 UZR in 653 1/3 innings. At third, he was good for 2 DRS and a 0.9 UZR across 341 2/3 innings.
The Mets have shown interest in Ian Kinsler (ultimately traded to Angels) and Jason Kipnis in the trade market this offseason as they look for a starting second baseman.
As of today, it would look like a battle between Wilmer Flores, Gavin Cecchini, Matt Reynolds and T.J. Rivera for reps at second base.
