The Mets plucked a free agent from the Yankees on Friday, but not this one.

With the baseball universe still waiting for Juan Soto to make a decision on where he will play – likely for the next 12 to 15 seasons – the Mets have Clay Holmes under contract to a three-year deal worth $38 million taken, pending a physical contract, as first reported by The Post’s Joel Sherman.

Holmes, a reliever for the first seven seasons of his major league career, will be named the Mets’ starting pitcher.

Last season, the right-hander posted a 3.14 ERA in 67 appearances for the Yankees, but was removed from the closer’s role in late September after his 13th loss.

The Yankees used Holmes as a reliever throughout the postseason, and he was solid in 12 appearances, posting a 2.25 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 12 innings.

The 31-year-old Holmes is the Mets’ second rotation addition of the offseason: Last week, the team agreed to terms with Frankie Montas (another former Yankees pitcher) on a two-year, $34 million deal that includes one opt-out after the next Season includes.

Kodai Senga and David Peterson appear primed for rotation spots next season, along with Holmes and Montas.

Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn and Jose Butto are among the other starting options, but the team will likely look on the market for more rotation players.

If Holmes doesn’t adjust to starting or the Mets have a bigger bullpen need over the course of next season, there’s a chance he could return to relief as a setup option for Edwin Diaz.

There are a lot of fundamental metrics that the Mets might like about Holmes.

His swing-and-miss percentage of 30.2 was in the 84th percentile in MLB last season, according to Statcast.

And his ground ball rate was the best in the game at 64.6.

Manager Carlos Mendoza’s familiarity with Holmes from their time together in the Bronx should only help.

Such dynamics were at play last season with the arrival of Luis Severino to bolster the Mets’ rotation.

Severino agreed to a three-year deal worth $67 million with the A’s this week, and two other members of the Mets’ rotation from last season, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana, are free agents.

The top of the free agent pitching market includes Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, but president of baseball operations David Stearns has shown little inclination to commit to starting pitchers – the $38 million for Holmes is that biggest guarantee for a Mets pitcher under Stearns’ two offseasons leading the front office.

Senga’s return from injuries that caused him to miss nearly all of last regular season raises the possibility that the Mets could use a six-player rotation.

The team used this tactic in several places to give the Japanese right-hander additional rest.

Montas was asked on a Zoom call with reporters Friday if he favored a longer rotation.

“With an extra day I would probably pitch better, but I try to get as many innings out as I can and I like to go out every five days,” Montas said. “I like to take responsibility and I’m kind of proud to take the ball every five days. … I didn’t really talk to them about that. I hope I stick to the five-day plan.”