The New York Mets are looking for a shortstop and are hoping that they may find an answer in Roberto Carlos, according to sources.

Carlos, 28, left the Cuban national team in Mexico in November 2012.

A switch hitter, he departed the United States last year after a stint playing independent baseball and settled in the Dominican Republic.

He played under the name Roberto Carlos Ramirez with the Cuban national team.

A source familiar with the player said Carlos may have "slipped through the baseball cracks" because he didn't have representation after defecting from Cuba.