BOSTON >> When Phil Nevin faces a lineup choice like he did on Monday, the Angels manager flashes back to last June in Seattle.

The Angels were trying to pull themselves out of the hole they had dug with their 14-game losing streak, and they had five games in four days against the Mariners.

Mike Trout played all five games.

The Angels won four of those games, but Nevin believes Trout’s workload during that series contributed to the back injury that cost the three-time American League MVP five weeks in the second half, which was the stretch when Angels playoff hopes truly died.

So on Monday, for a Patriots’ Day game scheduled to start at 11 a.m. local time, Nevin gave both Trout and Anthony Rendon the day off, with Shohei Ohtani pitching.

“Five games in four days and taking that many swings, his volume when he comes into work is quite high,” Nevin said, recalling last year’s Trout situation. “I don’t think it was any coincidence, a short time after that he had some pain in his back. It was a lot for five days. It’s nobody’s fault. He felt good, wanted to win the games and I listened to him. He’ll listen to me more this year.”

Trout had started all 15 of the Angels games, including one at designated hitter, before Monday.

Nevin said he doesn’t assign any extra urgency to a game in April, regardless of the three-game losing streak, because of how important it is to keep his players healthy for the entire season.

“I have days (off) mapped out for some guys coming up and we’re gonna stick to them regardless of how we’re playing,” Nevin said. “As poorly as we know we’ve played, we’ve talked about it, we’re 7-8 and we’re right there. As quick as it can turn around like it did last year, it can turn around in our favor too. I’m not worried at all about this club.”

Nevin also addressed the idea that he could spread out the days off more, so the team isn’t playing without two key middle-of-the-order hitters on the same day.

He said longtime NBA coach Gregg Popovich gave him the idea.

“I remember him saying something about major league baseball and why don’t teams sit all their guys on one day, maybe when their best pitcher’s going, once in a while,” Nevin said. “You still have a chance to win, but you’re only playing short one of the days. With our depth, we don’t necessarily feel like we’re playing that short at all, like we had in the past.”

Brett Phillips started in Trout’s place in center field, and Gio Urshela started for Rendon at third base, with Jake Lamb taking Urshela’s place at first.

“If I feel like guys need days, I feel like we have the depth and the strength to still win games,” Nevin said. “I don’t feel uncomfortable about it when I sit a few guys at one time. There will be more of these days this year, and we’ll be playing better. We’ve lost three in a row. We’re gonna lose three in a row again at some point this year. Every team does.”

Nevin said Rendon needed the day off because he’s still been nursing a sore shoulder from when he was hit by a pitch last weekend. Rendon has been shaking his hand at times during this series, but Nevin said that’s related to his shoulder, not the wrist surgery he had last year.

“The wrist is fine,” Nevin said. “He hasn’t said anything about that. I think the bats coming through the zone as well as he can right now. (The shoulder is) something he’s grinding through. He wants to play. He wanted to play today, but this was my decision.”

Angels outright Fletcher

The Angels on Monday outrighted infielder David Fletcher, which removes him from the 40-man roster.

Fletcher remains in the Angels’ organization. He will be playing for Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.

Although it’s mostly a paperwork move, it is nonetheless a sign of how Fletcher’s role in the organization has diminished. He had to clear waivers before he could be outrighted.

Fletcher, 28, is due more than $20 million through the 2025 season after signing a five-year contract extension two years ago. The Cypress High and Loyola Marymount product had started just four of the Angels’ first 12 games before he was optioned to create a roster spot for shortstop Zach Neto.

The Angels now have an open 40-man roster spot they could be planning to fill in the next 24 hours.

Fletcher was less than two months away from reaching five years of service time when he was demoted on Saturday. At that point, the Angels could no longer have optioned him.

“It was a hard conversation,” Manager Phil Nevin said on Saturday, “but he took it well and he’s ready to go down and work.”