Sean Casey, who signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Reds Tuesday, has spent the offseason making sure the team gets its money's worth.

        Casey joined the baseball trend and hired a personal trainer. Five days a week, Casey has an appointment with Ron Paci and a whole lot of exercise equipment at Jupiter (Fla.) Fitness Center.

        The idea is to get leaner and stronger.

        “I don't think I've lost much weight,” Casey said. “But I've toned up a lot. I'm stronger, firmer.”

        Casey worked with Paci the last month before spring training last year. The results were so impressive that he decided to let Paci direct his entire offseason program, although Casey would dispute the term “offseason.”

        “There's really no offseason anymore,” he said. “You've got to work at it year-round. This is pretty intense. But I'm really seeing the results.”

        The bulk of the program is weight training. Casey does aerobics three days a week, including a boxing class and a spinning class.

        Casey still plans to carry about 225 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame. But added strength should help his power numbers.

        Casey hit only 13 home runs last year after hitting 25 in 1999 and 20 in 2000.

        Casey said Paci is part fitness expert, part motivator. The motivation is just as important.

        “There are days when you just don't feel like working out,” Casey said. "He's there to push me. He helps me take it to another level.”

        Personal trainers have become commonplace in baseball. After the season Bret Boone had last year with Seattle, the investment in a personal trainer looks like money well spent.

        Boone credited much of his success — .331, 37 home runs, 141 RBI — to his offseason regimen with a personal trainer.

        “A lot of guys used trainers before,” Casey said, “but with Bret Boone you had such dramatic results. But working with a personal trainer isn't going to make you hit 40 home runs.”

        Casey will be one of the few familiar faces in the Reds clubhouse this year, and, at 27, he'll be a veteran on this year's club. Only seven players remain from the 1999 team that won 96 games: Casey, Aaron Boone, Barry Larkin, Danny Graves, Scott Sullivan, Scott Williamson and Jason LaRue.

        “That's amazing,” Casey said. “That's one of the tough things about this game. You make friends, you spend the whole season with guys and then they're gone. But only seven from three years ago is a little weird.”

        The revolving door on the clubhouse hasn't made Casey want to get out.

        “I love Cincinnati,” he said. “I'd like to finish my career here.”

        That would mean signing a long-term contract fairly soon. The Reds are likely to make a multiyear proposal to Casey once the new labor agreement is reached.

        “The one-year deal could turn into a multiyear deal,” Reds general manager Jim Bowden said. “We'll continue to discuss it.”

        Casey was relieved to avoid arbitration. Casey went to arbitration last year and won his case, getting a $3million contract.

        “I never want to go through that again,” he said.

        Casey had another good year in 2001. He made the All-Star team for the second time. He hit .310 (his lifetime average of .311 is 10th among active players) with the 13 home runs and 89 RBI. He might have reached 100 RBI for the first time if injuries hadn't cost him 18 starts. He figures the offseason program will help him stay healthier as well. “You're looking for any edge you can get,” he said.

        To that end, Casey's already hitting in the batting cage. He heads over to the Montreal Expos' spring training facility to work after his sessions with Paci.

        This makes for full days. Casey is usually up by 8a.m. to wake his son, Andrew, who was born Oct.26.

        “We play awhile before I go to work out,” Casey said. “It's been great. It's changed my schedule, but it's been great.”

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