The rumors are true: Alex Rodriguez is spending at least part of Christmas week in Boise.

A-Rod is Major League Baseball’s highest-paid player. With 629 homers, he’s sixth on the all-time list.

The three-time American League MVP did a light workout Monday morning at Axiom Fitness on ParkCenter Boulevard. “He just kind of rode the bike and signed autographs for people,” Axiom Assistant Manager Dax McIntosh said. “He was real cordial.”

“We get a lot of celebrities, but this is definitely the first time he’s been in,” said McIntosh, who described himself as “a Yankees fan since birth.”

Randy Simon, a former TV sports reporter now working for Gallatin Public Affairs, was on the treadmill when he noticed Rodriguez.

“I thought to myself, ‘That’s not Alex Rodriguez. Why would he be in Boise?’” he recalled Tuesday. “Then I saw some people come up and shake his hand.”

Channel 2 anchor Mike Murad also saw A-Rod at the gym. He posted a photo of A-Rod on Twitter and spoke with him briefly.

“He didn’t tell me why he was here,” Murad said via email, “but did tell me he was trying to keep a low profile.”

Simon said Rodriguez was at the gym with Torrie Wilson, a Boise native who won the Miss Galaxy fitness competition and became a star in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Wilson has tweeted about being in Idaho for Christmas but hasn’t mentioned Rodriguez.

The slugger broke up with actress Cameron Diaz earlier this year.

Several Boiseans tweeted about seeing A-Rod at restaurants and bars Monday.

Katy Moeller: 377-6413