Less than 24 hours after missing out on outfielder Kyle Tucker, the New York Mets have found their answer — shortstop Bo Bichette.

The 27-year-old free agent reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the Mets on Friday, as first reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon. His contract will be worth $126 million, carrying an average annual value of $42 million, and won’t include any salary deferrals.

Bichette’s deal, which is pending a physical, also features opt-outs after Years 1 and 2 with the Mets, as well as a $5 million opt-out bonus and a full no-trade clause. Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal both provide details on the contract parameters.

New York intends to position Bichette at third base, according to multiple reports, following seven seasons as an everyday shortstop in the majors — all with the Toronto Blue Jays. That’ll mean converting fellow infielder Brett Baty into a super utility role, or possibly leveraging him as trade bait to bolster the club’s work-in-progress starting rotation.

After missing the playoffs last season, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has retooled the team’s position-player group this off-season, subtracting core pieces such as Pete Alonso (free agency), Brandon Nimmo (trade) and Jeff McNeil (trade) in favour of Bichette, Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco.

Bichette and Semien, of course, will be reunited in Queens after forming a strong bond together during the latter’s lone season in Toronto during the 2021 campaign. Bichette credited Semien for the knowledge, professionalism and leadership skills that he gained from him that year.

Those additions, particularly Bichette and Polanco, will aim to help bolster New York’s lineup around franchise cornerstones Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor. But it still leaves several questions surrounding their outfield picture for 2026, which is currently projected to include Soto in right, Tyrone Taylor in centre and rookie Carson Benge in left. However, perhaps they could still be open to stealing free agent Cody Bellinger — who’s also drawn interest from the Blue Jays this off-season — away from the cross-town Yankees.

The Philadelphia Phillies also believed they were in the driver’s seat to land Bichette, at least until the Mets swooped in at the last minute, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting the Phils accepted the free-agent infielder’s seven-year, $200 million request Thursday night.

As for what this means for the Blue Jays, who’ve now missed out on Tucker and Bichette in the last 12-plus hours, they have to feel disappointed after investing as many resources into pursuing both players as they had over the past several weeks. While they could pivot from these disappointing results by re-engaging in Bellinger’s market, there’s probably a higher chance that management stands pat for the remainder of the off-season rather than pursuing a left-handed-hitting outfielder — who would make sense as a potential fit — that seems destined to remain in New York.

After all, Toronto has already augmented its offence this winter, signing Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract, and is banking on a return-to-form performance from veteran outfielder Anthony Santander in Year 2 of his five-year, $92.5 million deal.