Finding work is tough these days, especially for professional baseball players.

Tip Fairchild and Garrett Olson are each looking for a second shot at their big league dreams, but they’re finding the pickings slim. That’s because there is a glut of talent which, like them, was released at the end of spring training,

Olson, a former Oxford Hills standout from South Paris, was released last Friday after 2 years in the Minnesota Twins system. He, Cameron Hahn, his agent, and Jason King, his former coach at Franklin Pierce College, have been working the phones and e-mailing contacts ever since to try to find a spot with another organization. So far, they have a workout with a New York Yankees’ scout set for next week.

“It’s not the best time to get picked up by somebody because all the teams had to make cuts like the Twins did,” said Olson, who has also had some talks with a Toronto Blue Jays scout. “I’m waiting around, staying in shape and hoping an opportunity will come up somewhere.”

Olson, who turned 24 last month, said his release “came as a pretty big shock.” He had spent spring training with the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle, with whom he played his final 61 games of the 2008 season, batting .201 with two home runs and 22 RBIs while playing second and third base. He had earned a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers shortly after earning All-Star honors at Beloit, where he hit .247 in 65 games.

The Twins selected Olson with their second pick of the fourth round (126th overall) in the 2006 June draft. In 126 games played for Minnesota’s three Single-A affiliates, he batted .226 with seven homers, 59 RBIs and 51 runs scored.

“There’s a good possibility I’ll have to go play independent ball just to stay in shape and get at-bats just because something might not open up for awhile,” he said.

Fairchild has already taken the independent route, signing to pitch for the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League.

The former Monmouth Academy and University of Southern Maine right-hander was cut by the Houston Astros two weeks ago. A little less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery to repair his pitching elbow, the 25-year-old had had a strong spring, but may have suffered when significant turnover in Houston’s developmental system, including a new minor league pitching coordinator, left him the odd man out.

He split last season between starting and relieving for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, posting a 2-8 record with a save in 22 games.

A 12th-round draft choice of the Astros in 2005, Fairchild led all Astros minor leaguers with 14 wins in 2006, then suffered a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament during spring training in 2007.

The Somerset Patriots are based in Bridgewater, N.J., are managed by former Red Sox and Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle and are the defending Atlantic League champions. The team’s alumni includes for Red Sox Greg Blosser.

Last year, the Atlantic League sold a record 33 players to major league organizations. Somerset had five players signed, including Brandon Knight, who pitched in four games last season for the New York Mets. Mark DeFelice, who pitched for the Patriots in 2005, is currently a reliever for the Milwaukee Brewers.