They gather nearly every morning at the Lee County Sports Complex. Nothing is official or organized. They wear shorts and T-shirts, not baseball uniforms.

 

Everything they need is on the practice fields or toted in cars a short drive from their Lee County homes. Sunshine. Grass. Dirt. Batting cage. Balls, bats and gloves.

 

Although the first day of spring training is more than a month away, major-leaguers such as Cincinnati Reds pitcher Eric Milton are working out informally. Tuesday, he was one of about 10 ballplayers at the facility, the spring home of the Minnesota Twins.

 

Milton, a Fort Myers resident, fired batting-practice pitches to other players such as outfielder Brian Buchanan, a non-roster outfielder in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' organization. Milton zipped pitch after pitch after pitch. Nobody counted the pitches or timed his stay on the mound.

 

"I've never had any problems with my arm," Milton said after he finished. "Knock on wood."

 

The left-handed Milton, who was 14-6 last season with the Philadelphia Phillies, signed a three-year, $26.5 million deal with the Reds in December. Milton, 29, has been a big-leaguer since 1998. He knows that offseason workouts are part of the job description.

 

"It doesn't end when the season ends," Milton said.

 

After the season ends, Milton works out in a gymnasium, focusing on general conditioning.

 

"Once Christmas is over, you start to get that itch and you're ready to get back into it," Milton said.

 

Of the ballplayers on the practice field Tuesday morning, Milton was the only one who is a front-line major-leaguer. Buchanan, 31, is a journeyman outfielder who since 2000 has played for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and New York Mets. He's now with his fourth organization.

 

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Buchanan, a first-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1994, is a career .258 hitter, with 32 home runs, in 346 games. He's never had more than 227 at-bats in a season.

 

Although not on Tampa Bay's 40-man roster, the Fort Myers resident hopes to do something he has yet to do in the majors.

 

"I'm going to go into spring training trying to win a job, win a starting job," Buchanan said.

 

He realizes that time may be running short.

 

"I'm 31 and I've been a bench player my whole career," Buchanan said.

 

Before it's too late, Buchanan hopes to see what he can do as a regular.

 

"I'm not even looking for 500 at-bats," Buchanan said. "I'd love to get 350 at-bats. Just to see."

 

Buchanan, though, has achieved more than the rest of the ballplayers, other than Milton, at the complex Tuesday.

 

Pitcher Adam Johnson has won one big-league game and was 5-4, with a 6.07 ERA, last year with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League. Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2000 draft, hopes to pitch his way into Minnesota's plans.

 

The work begins in these offseason gatherings.

 

"This is fun," said Johnson, a Fort Myers resident. "There's no obligation. You just come out here on your own time and kind of play around like when you were a kid. Just have fun with each other."

 

Outfielder Kevin West, who hit 29 homers combined between games in Double-A and Triple-A last season, is trying to work himself into Minnesota's long-range plans. West, who played for the Fort Myers Miracle in 2002, is working two nights a week as a server at Lexington Country Club. He's also been working out at a gym and running.

 

That has trimmed his weight from 230 pounds to about 210 to 215. A 16th-round draft pick in 1999, West has slowly inched his way closer to the majors and believes he'll make it.

 

"I do," West said. "Sometimes it takes longer for certain guys, for whatever reason."

 

The Twins have three Mauer brothers in their farm system. The only one on the field Tuesday was infielder Jake Mauer, who played last year for the New Britain Rocks Cats of the Double-A Eastern League. The best-known Mauer is his younger brother, Joe, a catcher.

 

The Mauers, who hail from St. Paul, Minn., share a home in Fort Myers. They returned to St. Paul after the season to spend time with family but have been here since late December. They worked out indoors in St. Paul.

 

"There's only so much you can do indoors," Jake Mauer said.

 

Infielder Tommy Watkins, a Riverdale High School graduate who is in the Twins' organization, has never been north during the winter. He appreciates the warm weather. The offseason is a time for him to prepare.

 

"Got to get ready for spring training," Watkins said.

 

He's trimmed his weight from 214 pounds to about 197 to 199. Tuesday morning, he joined other players on the practice field.

 

"It's so good for us," Watkins said of workouts in Florida. "It's not cold down here. If I lived in Minnesota or someplace up north, I don't think I'd get anything done. I don't think I would leave the house."

 

Tuesday, on a sunny morning, Watkins and the other ballplayers had no problem leaving their houses. It was a beautiful day in the baseball neighborhood.