The Mets have placed Scott Hairston and Andres Torres on waivers, a major league source told ESPNNewYork.com.

There is no indication the Mets are willing to trade Hairston given their stated pursuit of meaningful games in September and hope to re-sign him, but given the state of the season, perhaps their view has changed.

Hairston could be a valuable righty-hitting bat off the bench for a contender. He is hitting .320 with nine homers and 27 RBIs in 147 at-bats against southpaws this season. And his modest salary -- he is owed roughly $234,000 for the remainder of the season -- would make him doubly attractive.

Torres, who is batting .233, is owed $2.7 million this season and is eligible for arbitration this winter. That makes him a logical non-tender candidate in December, since the Mets would appear unwise to pay in the neighborhood of $3 million in 2013 for a fourth-outfielder type.

If Hairston or Torres is claimed, the Mets can:

• Work out a trade with the claiming team.

• Pull the player back, at which point he would be ineligible to be traded.

• Dump the contract on the claiming team.

If either passes through waivers, he may be traded to any team. In order to be eligible for another team's playoff roster, players must be dealt before Sept. 1 -- hence the current timing.

Whether Hairston and Torres are claimed, or go unclaimed, will be resolved Monday afternoon.