Greg Bird returned to Yankee Stadium on Saturday buzzing with energy for his 2018 debut, but went hitless in four at-bats in the Yankees’ 11-4 loss to the Angels. But late Friday night, there was a different feeling in the clubhouse.

The Yankees made what manager Aaron Boone called “a very difficult decision” to option Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Bird’s activation off the disabled list, sending the utility infielder who has thrived in pinstripes to the minors for the first time since 2015.

“The news, you could feel it in our clubhouse last night,” Boone said Saturday before the Yankees continued their series against the Angels. “It was rough. … For what Toe means to our team, to our clubhouse, to the guys in that room, to the way he performs, it’s certainly not deserved.”

Torreyes was batting .339 across 22 games this season. In three years with the Yankees, Torreyes has hit .288 while playing shortstop, second base, third base and even a few games in the outfield in a pinch.

The Yankees still have Neil Walker to provide some infield versatility at third, second and first but now only have starting second baseman Gleyber Torres to provide backup for Didi Gregorius at shortstop.

First baseman Tyler Austin was thought to be the victim of the roster squeeze, but the 26-year-old who entered Saturday with eight home runs will stick around for now.

“I consider Birdie an everyday player, but Tyler Austin’s put himself in a position to garner some at-bats too, especially against left-handed pitching,” Boone said, adding that there are scenarios where both could be in the same lineup.

Boone said he hoped Torreyes’ demotion only would be temporary, but it was one they felt was necessary. The Yankees are carrying 13 pitchers on the roster as they play out a stretch of 14 games in 13 days, after which a reliever could be sent down to bring Torreyes back.

Bird, meanwhile, is hoping he can be a consistent force and add to an already potent Yankees lineup. He had been out since March, when he underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right ankle — the same right ankle that he had surgery on last July.

“[He was] OK,” Boone said after Bird went 0-for-4 with two strikeoutsthe game. “He had some deep counts. Thought he had some balls to maybe hit that he didn’t, or didn’t pull the trigger on necessarily. … Just didn’t really square anything.”

“Really, I feel pretty impressive, to be honest,” Bird said before he was set to bat sixth and play first base. “I’ve been real pleased with it.” If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I’d have said I was ready; if you’d have asked me a week ago, I’d have said I was ready; if you’d asked me three days ago, I’d have said I was ready. But definitely the extra days were useful for me. I felt like I made some pretty big leaps along the way in the last few days.”

Bird said the pain in his ankle went away two weeks ago, which is right around when he started his rehab assignment. It lasted 12 games, in which he recorded eight hits (three home runs) in 39 at-bats across three minor-league levels.

Saturday marked Bird’s 95th game in the major leagues since he was first called up in 2015. He sat out all of 2016 after undergoing shoulder surgery for a torn labrum. The 25-year-old has flashed his power in the big leagues, but has yet to find any sort of consistency because of the injuries.

“Injuries take away from you as a player. It’s hard to not let them take away from you as a person,” Bird said. “That’s the hardest thing for me. It sucks, it just does. Being able to get through that as a person is a harder thing than as a player. As a player, it comes back. But that’ll mess with your head a little bit.”