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Yankees should take serious look at status of Dallas Keuchel

TAMPA — Step 1 is to stay in the loop.

The Yankees’ heretofore tranquil spring training took a notable turn for the worse Tuesday afternoon when Luis Severino’s first scheduled Grapefruit League start got replaced by an unscheduled MRI exam, after the right-hander snapped a slider and felt right shoulder discomfort in his pregame warm-up.

The test showed rotator-cuff inflammation, prompting the Yankees to shut down their de facto ace for two weeks, and you can forget about him starting a second straight Opening Day.

We stand at a reasonable DEFCON 4 on this — though throw in Aaron Hicks’ lower back pain, and that’s the Yankees’ most recent $110 million in commitments momentarily shelved — yet this relative lack of panic still calls for preparatory action.