How hard did Yankees take news of Ronald Torreyes demotion?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone called the decision to demote beloved utility infielder Ronald Torreyes difficult.

NEW YORK — Manager Aaron Boone seemed genuinely bummed.

The mood of his clubhouse was significantly more sullen the night before, he said.

That was when Boone told beloved utility man Ronald Torreyes the team had sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — though he didn’t do anything wrong.

“The news, you could feel it in our clubhouse (Friday) night, it was rough,” Boone said.

“It was a difficult night, which was simply a tribute to what Ronald Torreyes is and what he means to our team and our clubhouse and frankly the way he’s performed in his years here. But I haven’t had that conversation with that group as a whole but it was — you could feel it in our room late (Friday) night.”

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Torreyes was sent out to make room for first baseman Greg Bird, who was slated to hit sixth in Saturday’s game against the Angels at Yankee Stadium.

Bird had been out all season, recovering from right ankle surgery to remove a bone spur.

Torreyes was the casualty because the team wants to keep Tyler Austin’s powerful righty bat on the bench and because it likes carrying an extra reliever, general manager Brian Cashman said.

“We’d like to get Toe back in the future at some point, but I can say the same thing about Clint Frazier, Brandon Drury, amongst others. It was not an easy decision but we’re paid to make tough ones,” Cashman said.

Torreyes took the news as well as anyone could, Boone said.

“He was a pro, as you’d expect, and kind of left it as he’s going to go down there and be Ronald Torreyes and work hard like he always does, which we all know that he will,” Boone said. “Hopefully that opportunity for him to get back up here will be sooner rather than later.”

Torreyes has been one of the key members of the Yankees’ clubhouse — and in its success on the field.

Standing at 5-foot-7, Torreyes seems to have a personal handshake with everyone and his dugout antics have made him a fan favorite.

The Yankees love him particularly because he hits whenever he’s called to play.

In sporadic work, Torreyes has hit .339 with six RBI and a .785 OPS in 63 plate appearances, covering second base, third base and shortstop. In three seasons, he’s hit .288.

“Obviously a very difficult decision,” Boone said. “I think the thinking was and hopefully it’s something that’s temporary for what Toe means to our team, to our clubhouse, to the guys in our room, to the way he performs.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.