LAKELAND, Fla. — Kyle Higashioka was scratched from Tuesday’s game against the Tigers with what Aaron Boone called soreness in his side.

Higashioka reported the soreness Monday and will be further evaluated Tuesday. Rob Brantly was in the lineup, catching Gerrit Cole in Higashioka’s absence.

“We didn’t want to mess with anything too much,’’ Boone said of the decision to sit Higashioka, who has had a sluggish spring at the plate.

Boone said he saw Higashioka early Tuesday and the catcher told him he felt good.

“He felt like maybe he wanted to get ahead of it,’’ Boone said. “Just try to avoid an injury situation.’’

The Yankees’ catching depth has already taken a hit this spring with the loss of Robinson Chirinos, who needed surgery to repair a fractured right hand after being hit by a pitch last week. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks.

The Yankees are also dealing with another injury to their pitching staff, as Adam Warren has been shut down with shoulder soreness. Boone said the right-hander hadn’t thrown in four or five days, so he’d be sidelined at least a few more days.

Warren is coming back from Tommy John surgery.

Clarke Schmidt, sidelined with a common extensor strain in his right elbow, could begin playing catch soon, according to Boone.

Cole is scheduled to have two more starts before Opening Day and after saying his slider was “trash” in his previous outing, the right-hander was pleased with it following Tuesday’s start.

“I thought it was improved,’’ said Cole, who hung a 2-1 slider to JaCoby Jones that ended up being a homer, one of two Cole allowed in the second inning.

Overall, though, Cole said he was able to “finish guys off” with the pitch, which left him encouraged.

Boone thought all four of Cole’s pitches were effective in his 61-pitch outing, during which Cole also struck out five in 3 ²/₃ innings.

“His four pitches were probably as sharp as they’ve been,’’ Boone said. “I like where he’s at right now.”