McKinney out to make most of major ‘opportunity’

TORONTO — Billy McKinney got a call from Kevin Reese, the Yankees senior director of player development, on Friday morning and had an immediate thought.

“I was wondering what I did wrong, to be honest,’’ the newest Yankee said before making his MLB debut in a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays. “He said I’d be going to Toronto.”

McKinney’s promotion from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre came after Aaron Hicks was placed on the disabled list with a strained intercostal muscle after just one game.

His path to the majors was far from clear when spring training began.

The Yankees already had Hicks, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge, as well as Giancarlo Stanton, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier.

But Ellsbury (oblique) and Frazier (concussion) ended up on the DL, so when general manager Brian Cashman needed another outfielder, he turned to McKinney.

Even though Cashman knew he would need to replace Hicks, the Yankees waited until Friday to tell McKinney, who arrived at Rogers Centre about three hours before Friday night’s game.

“I was excited to find out I was playing,” McKinney said.

McKinney singled in his first at-bat, but was unable to score on Brandon Drury’s double to right with two out.

“Once I hit it, I was hoping it was gonna sneak through,” McKinney said of his single.

Then he made two nice running catches in left in the bottom of the sixth.

“I think he believes he can play up here,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s nice to get that first one out of the way and hopefully he can build on that and hopefully take advantage of more opportunities.”

He was acquired in the deal that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs in 2016 and after splitting last year between SWB and Double-A Trenton, McKinney went 7-for-42 with the Yankees this spring. Five of those hits were home runs.

So while the Yankees use the combination of Tyler Austin and Neil Walker to get by without Greg Bird at first, they are planning for McKinney to help bridge the gap in the outfield until Ellsbury arrives — which will be Thursday at the earliest.

“If you are going to be as good a team as we hope to be, you have to withstand some blows here and there,” Boone said. “It’s an opportunity for somebody else. It’s an opportunity for us as a club.’’