SAN DIEGO — Trent Grisham’s return to Petco Park didn’t go as planned, as the Yankees’ center fielder was removed from Friday’s series-opener in the bottom of the third inning with right hamstring discomfort.

The former Padre has battled hamstring injuries each of the last two seasons. A right-side strain put him on the injured list on June 13 earlier this year, but Grisham has repeatedly said that his hamstring hasn’t bothered him since returning on July 3.

He and Aaron Boone reiterated that after Friday’s game, a 3-2, 10-inning loss that ended when Luis Campusano took Paul Blackburn deep for a two-run, walk-off homer.

Grisham, an impending free agent who returned to the Yankees this past offseason on a qualifying offer worth just over $22 million, is now expected to undergo imaging. However, he and Boone didn’t have much information beyond that.

“It seems like an injury,” Boone said, “so not sure yet if it’s an IL or not, but certainly could be.”

“It’s disappointing for sure,” Grisham added, noting that this injury is in a different spot than his last one. “But that’s part of the game, so we know what we’re signing up for. Hopefully, it’s nothing too problematic.”

Grisham, baseball’s slowest center fielder in terms of sprint speed, exited on Friday after failing to catch a 255-foot flyball to center in the bottom of the second inning. With Grisham playing deep and unable to get to the ball in time, Xander Bogaerts picked up what proved to be a critical RBI single.

When the inning concluded, Grisham returned to the Yankees’ dugout, tapped a trainer, and headed for Petco Park’s visiting clubhouse. He was then replaced by Heliot Ramos, who took over in right as Spencer Jones shifted to center.

But Boone and Grisham said that the player aggravated his hammy on an earlier play, a failed stolen base attempt in the top of the second inning. Grisham wasn’t sure if he had hurt himself, so he initially stayed in the game.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell how that would play out if I was feeling better,” Grisham said when asked if he thought he could have caught the ball in center at full strength.

Boone, meanwhile, said he thought it was a single off the bat with Grisham playing deep.

While an IL decision hasn’t been made yet, Grisham’s injury comes with the Yankees anticipating a roster crunch. It’s possible, though still undecided, that Aaron Judge will return from a fractured rib during the club’s upcoming homestand.

Demoting Jones or cutting veteran Amed Rosario would have been among the potential corresponding moves for Judge if the Yankees were healthy, but another IL stint for Grisham would negate the need for a choice.

Jones has made a strong impression since his second of three call-ups this season. The San Diego native entered Friday’s homecoming with a .250 average, an .804 OPS, nine home runs, 26 RBI, eight stolen bases and a 122 wRC+ over his last 57 games. He added a go-ahead RBI single against Mason Miller in the 10th inning of his first MLB game at Petco, a ballpark he grew up attending.

Jones has also hit southpaws better than the slumping Grisham, a fellow lefty, which is partly why there have been some public calls for the rookie to take playing time from the veteran.

Grisham’s declining defense, surely accentuated by his hamstring issues, has also factored into that conversation. The two-time Gold Glover entered Friday’s game last in Outs Above Average (-6) and second-to-last in Defensive Runs Saved (-7).

Jones has had some lapses in center himself, but he has the speed and athleticism to make up for some of his mistakes. Grisham, also hitting .211 with a .703 OPS and 18 home runs, simply doesn’t.

“I feel good defensively,” Jones said after paying in front of more than a few family members and friends. “I think it’s just about getting reads and repetitions. We’ll see as the days move on what’s going on, but I’m just gonna keep playing.