CLEVELAND — Ian Hamilton had an outside shot to make it back from a calf strain in time for a potential World Series, but the Yankees could not wait on him to find out.

So Hamilton was removed from the club’s ALCS roster on Friday — replaced by Mark Leiter Jr. — after suffering a low-grade calf strain while covering first base on a ground ball during Thursday’s Game 3 loss to the Guardians.

Having Hamilton replaced during this round means he is ineligible for the World Series roster if the Yankees make it there.

“He was definitely going to be out the rest of this series and possible to be back for the World Series, but unsure,” manager Aaron Boone said Friday before the Yankees’ thrilling 8-6 win in Game 4 at Progressive Field. “So we just had to make the decision to do that.”

The injury marks the end of a frustrating year for Hamilton, who also missed nearly three months during the regular season with a strained lat.

He appeared in two playoff games and would have been a valuable high-leverage arm moving forward with the Yankees’ best relievers all being taxed with a heavy workload to this point.

While the Yankees ultimately landed on Leiter to take Hamilton’s spot, they also weighed potentially bringing Nestor Cortes back early from the left elbow flexor strain that has sidelined him since late September.

The left-hander is doing well and is set to face hitters again on Saturday for the second time while upping his pitch count to 20-25.

“But I felt like in the end, a little irresponsible skipping some steps to get him back,” Boone said. “Just what he’s been through injury-wise, in the end, I just didn’t feel like that was fair to him to skip what he still needs to do.But I feel like very much trending forward, if we get through this round, he has an excellent chance to be in play [for the World Series].”

Both Boone and general manager Brian Cashman mentioned not wanting to put Cortes’ career in a bad position by bringing him back too soon from an injury that can often lead to Tommy John surgery.

While Boone moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. (0-for-4, three strikeouts) into the cleanup spot Friday for the scuffling Austin Wells — who ended up snapping an 0-for-21 skid with a home run from the eight-hole — he also considered having Anthony Rizzo, who had a key single to start the Yankees’ rally in the top of the ninth, bat fourth behind Aaron Judge.

But with Rizzo playing through two broken fingers, Boone wanted to cover himself in case he needed to pull the veteran at some point in the game.

After Gleyber Torres delivered an RBI single in the top of the ninth, he was pinch run for by Oswaldo Cabrera to get more speed on the bases as a potential insurance run.

Jon Berti, who had pinch run for Rizzo earlier in the inning, then played second base in the bottom of the ninth while Cabrera played first.

The Guardians announced Friday that right-hander Tanner Bibee — who lasted just 1 ¹/₃ innings in Game 2 — will start Saturday’s Game 5.