Red Sox players gather for early spring training workouts at Jet Blue Park

A crowd gathers at Fenway South as a number of Boston Red Sox players report early for spring training to begin working out.

There’s an old saying that goes, “the early bird gets the worm.” Essentially it means that the one that arrives first has the best chance at success, which may explain why several Boston Red Sox players have arrived in camp early to start preparing for the upcoming season.

Pitchers and catchers aren’t officially expected to report to spring training until February 13, with formal workouts beginning the following day. Position players need to show up by February 16 to begin their first full workout the day after.

We are over a week away from those deadlines, yet the Red Sox have a number of players that have arrived early to get a head start on their training.

The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham is covering the team at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, where he witnessed informal workouts on the field Friday morning.

Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley, Brock Holt, Rick Porcello and David Price are among the players expected to make the Opening Day roster that were in attendance for today’s workout group.

Blake Swihart was there, which is good to see considering he’s making the transition back to catcher this spring. That may mean he’ll begin the year in Pawtucket, but getting a head start on spring training shows he’s serious about putting in the work to hone his skills behind the plate so that he can get back to the big leagues.

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Right-handed pitcher Kyle Martin also joined the group. After reaching Triple-A Pawtucket last season, a solid showing this spring could put him on the radar as a potential option to join the bullpen later this year.

Abraham also spotted Sam Travis on the field. The promising first base prospect was sporting a brace on his surgically repaired left knee, but reportedly ran well during workouts. Expected to be the future of the position in Boston, Travis’ timeline to make his major league debut will depend in large part to how he bounces back from an injury that ended his season last year.

Here’s a video that Abraham shared on his Facebook page of today’s workout.

Sure, it’s just a bunch of guys playing catch, but the sight of seeing Red Sox players on the field again is enough to stir excitement from a fan base anxiously awaiting the upcoming season.

Next: Is Sandy Leon being undervalued?

It may not feel like it with the frigid weather here in New England, but spring is inching closer, which means the return of Red Sox baseball can’t be far away!