Hunter gets the day off

Twenty games into his first season as an Angel, Torii Hunter has already sat out as many games as he did in his last season as a Minnesota Twin.

Hunter called sitting out the Angels’ 4-2 loss to Seattle on Sunday at Angel Stadium “very tough,” even though it was a planned day off so that the center fielder could rest the sore big toe on his left foot.

“I mean, I missed two games last year and I missed two already,” Hunter said.

“There won’t be a lot of those. Right now, I’ve got this foot problem and you can’t really do anything about it.

“Day games, they bother me. I’m not older, just sore.”

Precautionary X-rays on the toe, which Hunter jammed while crashing into the outfield wall on April 12 in Seattle, were negative.

Hunter also sat out the Angels’ game against the Mariners on April 13 because of the toe injury.

Combined with his duties as the designated hitter Saturday and today’s scheduled off day, Hunter will have had three consecutive days off from having to play the outfield.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he wanted “to hopefully get this toe thing to where it’s as far behind him as we can to where it won’t become an issue.”

Hunter said the back stiffness he experienced after a minor automobile accident Friday had mostly subsided and he expected to be “good to go” when the Angels open a three-game series in Boston on Tuesday.

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With the Angels’ bullpen no longer overtaxed and a scheduled off day today, the team optioned reliever Jason Bulger to Salt Lake and recalled infielder Kendry Morales from the triple-A franchise. Morales will join the Angels in Boston on Tuesday.

Although there doesn’t seem much need for an extra bat on the Angels’ bench -- reserve outfielder Reggie Willits had only one at-bat in the Angels’ first 15 games before being optioned to the minor leagues last week -- Scioscia said the Angels could use the added depth with Hunter nursing his injured toe.

“If we have a couple of bad games and need the pitching,” Scioscia said, “we can always make another move to go to 12 pitchers again.”

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The tentative plan for John Lackey’s rehabilitation assignment, Scioscia said, is for the right-hander to make three appearances for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and then pitch once in extended spring training around May 9 before rejoining the Angels.

That would put Lackey on track to make his season debut sometime the following week during the Angels’ seven-game homestand against the Chicago White Sox and Dodgers.

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Reliever Chris Bootcheck pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his season debut Sunday. . . . Second baseman Howie Kendrick, on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring, will accompany the Angels to Boston today and could resume fielding ground balls this week, Scioscia said.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com