The cleanup spot has been an issue for the Yankees for much of the season — especially since Giancarlo Stanton went down with a strained hamstring. 

In Saturday’s 9-1 loss to the Rays, Austin Wells became the latest to hit fourth, taking the place of the slumping Alex Verdugo, who was bumped back to sixth against Rays right-hander Taj Bradley. 

It didn’t work as Wells went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a double play, though Aaron Boone called that hard grounder to second “probably one of the hardest-hit balls of the day.” 

Prior to the game, Boone said Verdugo’s issues at the plate, coupled with solid at-bats from Wells — who walked three times Friday — went into the decision. 

“[Verdugo] is pressing a little bit, so I hope this gets him going,’’ Boone said of the left fielder. “Maybe this takes some pressure off, moving him a couple slots down.” 

As for Wells, Boone said the catcher has “been stringing together quality at-bats now for a good, long stretch — whether he gets results or not.” 

He hit cleanup nine times in the final month of last year’s lost season and the problems at cleanup have existed for a while, with Boone pointing to Stanton’s injury as one of the reasons. 

“Really since [Stanton’s] gone down, even though he was only hitting cleanup against lefties, the first couple months, the 4 [and] 5 spots were really productive for us,’’ Boone said. “Since that [injury] happened, the 4-hole has been a struggle for us.

“We’ll try to get a guy in a good place and have a little bit of presence there.”