Peter Bourjos is relieved to still be a centerpiece

Center fielder Peter Bourjos’ first reaction when he heard about the Vernon Wells trade in January was not that he would be flanked by 12 Gold Glove Awards in the Angels outfield, nine belonging to Torii Hunter and three to Wells.

“I thought I was going back to [triple-A] Salt Lake,” said Bourjos, who dazzled defensively after an early-August promotion to the big leagues last season. “Then they said Vernon was going to play left field. I was like, ‘All right.’ ”

The speedy Bourjos earned the center-field job entering camp with his flashy 2010 glove work, but how long he keeps it will probably depend on his bat.

The 23-year-old hit only .204 in 51 games last season, and if light-hitting Jeff Mathis wins the catching job and the Angels get minimal production at third base again, they might not be able to carry an easy out in center field, no matter how good Bourjos is defensively.

Bourjos didn’t exactly tear it up in the Dominican winter league, hitting .207 in 24 games for Escogido. But in reviewing video of 2010 with the Angels, he thinks he knows why he struggled, and why he hit too many weak ground balls to the left side.

“I need to just relax in the batter’s box and trust myself,” Bourjos said. “I watched every at-bat from last year, and it looked like I was anxious, I just couldn’t lay back. I was out in front of a lot of pitches and rolled over on them.”

Bourjos, a .293 hitter in five minor league seasons, showed some pop last season, with six home runs and four triples, but if he struggles early in 2011, the Angels could move Wells or Hunter back to center field and designated hitter Bobby Abreu to the outfield.

“Playing in bigger stadiums in front of 40,000 fans, you’re a little more anxious, your adrenaline is going a little more,” Bourjos said. “If I can control that, it’s going to help me a lot.”

Morales to DH more

Manager Mike Scioscia remains confident that Kendry Morales, who sat out most of last season because of a broken lower-left leg, will be ready by opening day, but he acknowledged Sunday that the first baseman might have to open the season at DH.

“Whether or not he’s 100% ready to go on opening day, there’s certainly going to be some DH days for him,” Scioscia said. “We might be able to use that [position] to get a little different look.”

Morales, an impact bat the Angels are depending heavily on, has looked good from both sides of the plate in early hitting sessions, but he just began fielding drills Saturday and isn’t close to running 100%.

“I think offense will be the least of our concerns,” Scioscia said. “The way he’s swinging the bat, particularly right-handed, where you’re putting a lot of torque on the landing foot, he has no issues.

“His first [defensive workout] was encouraging, but you still see that separation [from where he is now] to where he needs to get to. How long that’s going to take, hopefully we’re talking a matter of weeks.”

Is Scioscia as convinced today as he was when camp opened that Morales, who in 2009 hit .306 with 34 homers and 108 runs batted in, will be ready by opening day?

“Nothing has changed,” Scioscia said, “but the work he needs to do to get to that level is very real.”

Short hops

Pitchers were scheduled to throw live batting practice Sunday for the first time this spring, but a downpour forced the workouts to be moved to the indoor batting cages. … Fox Sports West will televise 11 of the Angels’ Cactus League games, beginning Feb. 28 against Oakland. The MLB Network will carry seven Angels games, beginning Saturday against the Dodgers.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com