Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz prepares to take a run early yesterday morning at the team’s Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., before the start of training camp.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

FORT MYERS, Fla. — As the fog began to slowly burn off yesterday morning at the Red Sox Player Development Complex, a large figure could be seen strolling through the parking lot.

His strut was deliberate and distinguishable despite the haze.

It was David Ortiz.

The Red Sox slugger arrived a day early, and once he became more visible, it was evident the big man is in great shape. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder is slimmer and appears to be stronger and healthier than he was in 2008.

“I think he looks tremendous,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “That’s very exciting to see. You hear all the reports, but when you actually get to lay your eyes on him …”

As usual, Ortiz was in a good mood. He quickly got dressed into shorts and a T-shirt and ran on the warning track of one of the practice fields at the complex.

Once he completed his cardio, he put on his uniform and participated in batting practice and an infield session. He was joined by Dustin Pedroia, Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Gil Velazquez, Chris Carter, Lars Anderson and Jeff Bailey.

During BP, Ortiz was smoking the ball. His hands were quick and his swing was fluid.

Everyone around the cage was talking about how good he looked.

“I think he wanted to get a little bit lighter, but saying that, not weaker,” explained Francona. “Losing weight — I don’t want to say it’s easy to do — but he needs to be strong and have a good lower half. As you get older and you have an injury or two, that’s just part of staying good. He did a really good job. I’m really proud of him.”

Ortiz suffered a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist on May 31 of last season and missed 45 games. He returned to action July 25 but wasn’t fully recovered; He was hampered with discomfort for the remainder of the year, including the postseason.

The left-hander wasn’t his dominant self and finished the regular season with a .264 average with only 23 homers and 89 RBI.

“The season played itself out like we thought it would,” Francona said. “Having him out there was huge, but I don’t know that you were going to see the vintage Ortiz. Just don’t know how realistic that was.”

It’s obvious Ortiz used the offseason used to his advantage.

Ortiz is scheduled to meet with the media today to discuss exactly what his offseason program consisted of.

“(Ortiz) he’ll be fine,” Pedroia said. “Getting him and Mikey (Lowell) healthy — those are the biggest things. When those guys are healthy, we all know what they can do. Some injuries, you just can’t control them, but hopefully we can stay healthy all year long because we can do some special things if we are.”

Ortiz’s health and production will be one of those keys to success in 2009.

jmcdonal@projo.com