The Detroit Tigers needed power, so they're bringing in two free agents -- infielders Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron -- who played for a Minnesota Twins team that set a major league record for home runs last season.

Both one-year deals were for $6.1 million, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Saturday.

Schoop, a second baseman, and Cron, a first baseman, both were key components of a power-hitting Twins lineup that won their first AL Central crown since 2010 and broke MLB's single-season record with 307 home runs last season.

The Tigers finished with the worst record in the majors last season at 47-114 and were 53.5 games behind the Twins in the division.

Schoop, 28, batted .256 with 23 homers, 59 RBIs and a .777 OPS in 121 games during his only season with Minnesota, while making $7.5 million. It was his fourth consecutive season with more than 20 home runs.

The 29-year-old Cron, who was brought in as a replacement at first base for the retired Joe Mauer, had a career-high 78 RBIs last season while hitting .253 with 25 homers and a .311 on-base percentage in 125 games. He played most of the second half of the season with a nagging right thumb injury that required offseason surgery.

The Tigers, who have the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time in three years, certainly need plenty of help after finishing last in the American League with 582 runs -- 109 behind 14th-place Kansas City -- and second to last in the majors with 149 home runs.

In a year when balls flew out of ballparks with ease, no Detroit player hit more than 15 home runs. The team leader in RBIs was Miguel Cabrera with 59. The Tigers have some well regarded pitching prospects in their system who could be ready to help in the next year or two.

"Adding Jonathan and C.J. is a step towards accomplishing our offseason goal of making the ballclub better heading into the 2020 season," general manager Al Avila said in a statement. "We're excited to have them join our organization, and we expect both players will inject significant power to our lineup. Defensively, C.J. will provide stability at first base, while Jonathan will lead the middle of our infield."

Second base was a revolving door for the Tigers last season with Gordon Beckham (39 games), Harold Castro (34 games), Josh Harrison (34 games), Ronny Rodriguez (31 games) and Niko Goodrum (22 games) all sharing time. Brandon Dixon played 61 games at first base for the Tigers last season, with John Hicks (29), Cabrera (26) and Jeimer Candelario (20) also seeing time there.

Known for his slugging, Schoop swung at 43.5% of the pitches he saw outside of the strike zone last season, which would have ranked him in the bottom 10 among major league players had he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

He was traded to Milwaukee in the summer of 2018 right before the non-waiver deadline and signed a one-year deal with the Twins during the offseason, after the Milwaukee Brewers declined to offer him a contract rather than allow him to be eligible for salary arbitration.

The native of the Caribbean island of Curacao made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2013 and spent five seasons as their regular second baseman, until the team's salary dump triggered the deal that sent him to the Brewers for second baseman Jonathan Villar and two minor league prospects.

Schoop had his best season in 2017 with the Orioles, when he was a first-time All-Star and hit .293 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs. He has a .257 career batting average with 133 homers and 392 RBIs.

Cron, who was non-tendered by the club in December after making $4.8 million in 2019, doesn't walk much -- evidenced by his 139 career walks vs. 566 strikeouts -- and is regarded as a mediocre defender at first base.

He batted .253 with 28 doubles, 30 home runs, 74 RBIs and an .816 OPS in a breakout 2018 season for the Tampa Bay Rays, who designated the slugger for assignment in the offseason prior to him joining the Twins. Cron missed six weeks of that season after suffering a broken left hand when he was hit by a pitch.

Cron played his first four major league seasons for the Los Angeles Angels, who selected him with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft. He has 114 career home runs and 365 RBIs while hitting .258.

ESPN's David Schoenfield and Keith Law and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Yoenis Cespedes' base salary for 2020 has been cut to $6 million from its original $29.5 million as part of an amended contract with the New York Mets that avoided a grievance hearing, according to details obtained by The Associated Press.

The oft-injured outfielder, however, would make $20 million if he has 650 plate appearances next season, the AP reported.

Cespedes agreed to a four-year, $110 million contract in December 2016 but hasn't played since July 20, 2018. The outfielder had surgery to remove bone calcification from his right heel on Aug. 2, 2018, and from his left heel that Oct. 26.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, Cespedes' former agent, said in late May the outfielder suffered multiple right ankle fractures in an accident at Cespedes' ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club's spring training complex is located.

New York withheld part of Cespedes' salary, alleging he was hurt during an activity prohibited by his contract's guarantee language. The players' association filed a grievance, and the sides settled on an amended contract on Dec. 13 before the case was argued.

Cespedes had been owed $29 million for 2019 and $29.5 million in 2020. His 2019 pay was cut to $14,811,828, according to Mets payroll information made available to all clubs.

A two-time All-Star, the 34-year-old has played in only 119 games in the first three seasons of the contract -- just 38 since the end of the 2017 season.

If Cespedes doesn't start next season on the injured list because of a right foot or ankle injury tied to his May 18 injury, his base salary would escalate to $11 million. His base pay would rise to $11 million as soon as he is on the active roster or on the IL for a non-related injury.

According to The Associated Press, Cespedes can earn $9 million next season based on plate appearances: $250,000 each for 200, 250 and 275; $500,000 apiece for 300, 350, 375 and 400; $750,000 each for 425, 450 and 475; and $1 million apiece for 525, 550, 575 and 650

The report said his bonus for an All-Star selection was increased from $50,000 to $500,000, for winning a Gold Glove from $100,000 to $750,000, for Silver Slugger from $50,000 to $750,000, for World Series MVP from $100,000 to $500,000 and for League Championship Series MVP from $50,000 to $500,000.

Cespedes would get $1 million for league MVP, $250,000 for second and $100,000 for third -- up from $125,000, $100,000 and $75,000 in the original contract, according to the report. The Associated Press also reported he'd receive a $2 million assignment bonus if traded to an AL team and a $500,000 bonus if dealt to an NL team -- the money owed by the club that acquires him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

After making huge progress in 2019, the British steeplechaser finds herself in with a shot of Tokyo 2020 selection, writes Daniel Rees

Given that Lizzie Bird has occupied a place in the British top 10 annual rankings for seven years in a row, her ascent to the top of the UK lists this season should not come as much of a surprise.

In recent years the 3000m steeplechaser has managed to slip under the radar, but a stand-out 2019 has surely put an end to her status as one of the country’s lesser-known athletes. At the British Championships in August, the 25-year-old secured her place at the World Championships following a thrilling stand-off with Rosie Clarke, eventually succumbing to the defending champion. In Doha, though, it was Bird who had the last word, setting a UK-leading time of 9:30.13 to ensure that she set her fifth personal best in eight races.

Most impressive of all, her 9:30.13 clocking was 23 seconds faster than she ran prior to 2019. Now sitting third on the UK all-time list, it is safe to say that Bird is soaring to new heights.

“Doha was a completely new and, in some ways, bizarre experience,” she says. “In terms of performance, I was really happy. Although I could’ve made the final if I made a move sooner than I did. The one mistake I made during the race was giving Allie Ostrander too much respect – it took me a full lap to work up the courage to go past her and it cost me a spot in the final as I didn’t have enough time to make up the ground after that.”

Bird’s road to being the UK No.1 has certainly been an unorthodox one. Unlike her contemporaries she has not trained at Loughborough or St Mary’s – nor has she based herself at one of the major US colleges. When applying for university six years ago, Bird opted for Princeton in a bid to give herself an opportunity in another career in case athletics fell flat.

“I wanted to do both athletics and academics,” Bird explains. “I think in the UK, at least to my 18-year-old self, it seemed I had to make a choice to either pursue athletics at Loughborough or Birmingham and set academics on the back foot, or go fully into the academics at somewhere like Oxford or Cambridge. Princeton offered both and did a really good job in providing a set-up where I could do both to a high level.”

One coach warned Bird she would return injured if she enrolled at an intensive running college in the US. Princeton, however, offered academic standing alongside a less intensive athletics set-up – and that’s where the steeplechase comes in.

Bird had never considered competing in the event before enrolling at Princeton. Yet the persuasions of the university’s cross-country captain, as well as her coach, won her round.

“I was sort of reluctant to try it at first,” she says. “There is this attitude in the UK that steeplechase is for 1500m runners who aren’t quite good enough to be top at 1500m. I was really put off the event at a young age, but then I went to Princeton and I ran the cross-country season. I had a go, tried some drills, and did a race which went well. I really liked the water jump. That’s definitely my favourite part of the event.”

“There is this attitude in the UK that steeplechase is for 1500m runners who aren’t quite good enough to be top at 1500m”

Bird’s first couple of years in the United States were encouraging. She ranked seventh in the UK in her first season competing as a steeplechaser and earned a GB under-23 vest in 2015. Then came the injuries.

She was beset by illness and stress fractures in 2016-17 and a subsequent move to the University of San Francisco followed. The 2018 summer season was another write-off, prompting Bird to give herself an ultimatum: succeed in 2019, or focus all her energies on her working career.

“I took the whole of last summer off,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to have another injury that would prevent me from just going out for a hike or an easy run. That was the most frustrating thing about those injuries. I graduated in December last year, and my coach [Pat McCurry] said he could get me running 9:30, so I thought I would give it one last go.”

With Bird sensing the 2019 season might be her last throw of the dice, the weight of expectation was lifted from her shoulders. “When I thought ‘I don’t care anymore,’ I started having fun and running well so didn’t want to stop,” she says.

Post-university, Bird was working as an immigration assistant, but a run-of-the-mill holiday back home in June turned into a major turning point. She decided it was now or never in her pursuit for selection in Doha – and she handed in her notice.

“I came home in June intending to come for a week. I told my office I was coming back in 10 days and was absolutely intending to. Then I raced at the Watford Open four days after I got back and it was atrocious. I think that was the push I needed to realise that I couldn’t really work and train for the summer.”

Then suddenly it all clicked. She ran a PB in France (9:41.93) and another (9:36.84) in Finland. Then, with the Worlds standard in the bag, she won silver at only her second British Championships.

Bird’s performance at the World Championships then completed a miraculous turnaround. It may have been her first senior international call-up, but she now finds herself just 13 hundredths of a second off the Olympic standard for Tokyo.

“If you asked me in January if I were planning to train for the 2020 Olympics I would have said ‘no chance’,” she says.

Bird has since deferred her place at law school in Boulder, Colorado, opting to focus on a place at the Olympics. She recuperated in the off-season by backpacking in Desolation Wilderness, an area in California practically devoid of human activity. Now back in San Francisco, Bird has resumed winter training – but even then, she has an ambition that burns even brighter than her aspiration of making the Olympics:

“Immigration law is the career I want to go into. Ideally what I’d really like to do is find an immigration organisation to work with while I train because that’s really what I care about most outside running. I’ve been very hesitant to put everything into running in the past. I’m treating this as a nine-month period where I’m putting this time aside to train for the Olympics. After that I can get on with the rest of my life.”

GOLD COAST, Australia — Adam Scott birdied two of his final three holes to take a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Australian PGA championship on Saturday.

Scott had a 54-hole total of 10-under 206 after a 3-under 69 at Royal Pines.

''I made a good move at it (on the 18th) and it all worked out - you'd hope for that tomorrow to happen but you just never know,'' Scott said. ''This golf course can bite you so it's important you execute your shots well when you're down in the valleys of sin around these greens.''

Former U.S. Amateur champion Nick Flanagan shot 9-under 63 to equal the course record and move to within two shots of the lead.

''It got to a point today where I've been playing so bad and trying so hard that I thought I'd just go out there and not try at all, and all of a sudden, you loosen up over the ball,'' Flanagan said. ''I've got a baby due in five weeks, that's what I'll be thinking about but obviously I'd love to go out there and win so it's finding that balance again.''

Americans Cameron Champ and Stewart Cink both shot 71s, leaving Champ at 4-under and Cink a stroke further behind.

Very little is worth toiling away on the Pakistan domestic circuit for, but, the fact this comes close is the greatest compliment you could pay Abid Ali.

The start of an international career - that for the best part of a decade looked destined not to materialise - has been so heady it was a blessing it didn't happen in the barren desert of the Emirates. While Abid plugged away, almost sight unseen, in Pakistan, the national side attracted, at best, a handful more spectators in the UAE, their achievements met by sullen indifference from seats in stadiums that might as well have been designed never to be sat on.

Here, as Abid brought up another hundred, his second in his first two Tests, it was greeted by the largest crowd this Test match has seen. That may not be saying too much, but when he finally tickled one to the onside to bring up three-figures, there were nearly as many people in the ground as the 8,000 or so that flocked to Pindi Stadium on that magical fifth day. It means this unassuming 32-year old is the unlikely recipient of the most adulation a Pakistan player has received in a home series in over a decade.

The wheels for this moment had been set in motion three months prior at this same venue on the day this year's edition of a revamped Quaid-e-Azam trophy began. Abid would bat 170 overs as opener for Sindh, ending up with an unbeaten 249, and while the match ended in a tame draw, it was clear the format which came most naturally was beckoning to him just as Pakistan looked set to bring Test cricket back home.

That he took that chance with both hands is as surprising as it is gratifying, for Abid's disposition and attitude is as far removed from the average elite athlete in the best possible way. He may not be the interviewer's dream, humble to a fault and so uncontroversial it should count as a separate skill independent of his prowess on the field. Ever since he scored that hundred on ODI debut against Australia, he's been asked about little except whether he felt bitter he had been kept away from the international side so long. Today, too, those suggestions were presented the straight bat that made him so prolific on the field all day long.

"The domestic cricket I've played has served me well, and it was all for this moment," he said. "Wherever I've gone, whichever region or department I played for gave me the confidence to play well today. In the 105 first-class matches I played before this game, all I was focused on was I had to take my chance whenever I was given one. I was intent on being positive, and that's always the way I look to play."

Moreover, being prolific in domestic cricket doesn't necessarily translate to international success, and nowhere is that more evident than Pakistan, where the gap between the first-class circuit and international cricket is a yawning chasm. Sami Aslam played for the national side on the back of strong domestic performances only to fade away, while it's taken Shan Masood the best part of half a decade to become something of a regular in the Test side, and would have found his spot under immediate scrutiny again with a failure here. But Abid's uncomplicated approach, his positive footwork when driving down the ground and wristwork through midwicket mean that, in home Tests at least, Abid has done enough ensure Pakistan needn't worry about one of the opening slots for the foreseeable future.

But the real reason Abid would do well to bask in the accolades flowing his way is they won't last very long. Sure, Pakistan fans will value his contributions to the side, but he isn't the reason they come to the grounds. When Abid was finally adjudged lbw towards the end of the day, 26 runs shy of a double-century, he decided to review the call. But even before Hawk-Eye was shown, the crowd began chanting the name of Babar Azam, who would be the next man in. They had been clamouring to see him all day, and if that meant Abid Ali would have to walk off, well, they were fine with it.

Abid will know that better than anyone. He had come into this series barely expecting to play any part in it, before a late decision the night before the first Test told him he would make his Test debut in Pindi. He spent over a decade being shunted from ground to ground, team to team all in the hopes he'd finally win the approval of whichever Pakistan selector happened to be there.

Abid has done more than that. For the second time in a week, he stood, clad in the Pakistan shirt he might have thought he'd never wear, raising his bat to fans he never imagined would chant his name. In Pakistan cricket, it's much easier to be cynical than optimistic, far simpler to become bitter than continue to believe. It is why few could begrudge Abid a series likely beyond his wildest fantasies. He believed he was good enough, even if for several years, Pakistan's selectors didn't share that viewpoint. Now, thousands in Rawalpindi and Karachi agree wholeheartedly with him. He may not be the player they come to watch, but if the first two Tests are any indication, they'll be seeing an awful lot of him in the years to come.

South Africa A 154 for 2 (Petersen 60*) trail England 456 for 7 dec. (Pope 132, Denly 103, Burns 56) by 302 runs

Ollie Pope has down-played any disruption caused by the illness that has swept through the England camp, leaving some of their front-line bowlers in a race to be fit for the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.

Pope was among a number of touring players able to cash in during the three-day warm-up against South Africa A in Benoni, bringing up his first century in an England shirt with a knock of 132 off 145 balls on day two. Earlier, Joe Denly had scored his first hundred for England with 103, Rory Burns posted 56 and Ben Stokes - a late arrival on tour after winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in Aberdeen last weekend - made 47 before the visitors declared their first innings on 456 for 7.

James Anderson dismissed opener Reeza Hendricks for just six in another positive step for the England spearhead making his way back from a lengthy absence with a calf injury, and Stokes chimed in with the wicket of Pieter Malan, bowled for 34. Keegan Petersen reached an unbeaten 60 to help steady South Africa A following a stoppage for bad light and was accompanied by Rudi Second, who was 40 not out at the close with the hosts 154 for 2 in reply.

Also read: 'My way is not always the right way' - Boucher on bid for team unity

The match had been changed from a first-class fixture to a friendly after Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach were struck down by illness, which delayed their arrival in Benoni. The trio took part in a nets session on Saturday and could conceivably take part in the match on the final day, given its downgraded status, although they were expected to continue their recuperation off the field of play.

"We've got a few illnesses in the camp but I think they're all on the mend and hopefully they'll be ready for that first Test when it comes round but I'm all good and everyone on the pitch is all good as well," Pope said.

"It's obviously been a bit of a strange game, having this not being the first-class game so we can play a few more. We didn't know how it was going to pan out, when the boys were going to be back fit, if they were going to be able to bowl tomorrow or not, but I wouldn't say it's been disruptive at all.

"The boys that have been fit and well, we've been able to get on with our training, we've had a really good week's preparation for that first Test on Boxing Day."

Pope did not mind his century not counting towards his first-class figures, having finally converted a strong start after scoring 88 in another warm-up match, against New Zealand A last month, followed by 75 in the second Test against New Zealand.

"It was a good feeling getting the first one out the way," he said. "If it was the first Test it would be even nicer but it's more a preparation for the first Test. I felt really good out in the middle, obviously I've got those runs under my belt but it's all about getting ready for that first Test now."

Pope credited the senior members of the England side with allowing newer players such as himself - he has played just four Tests - to feel comfortable immediately.

"I've only played four games but I think the environment the boys create in the dressing room, you automatically feel settled into the side," he said. "Everyone is made really welcome and the bigger characters, the bigger players in the side, they sort of integrate you and you don't know the difference between someone playing their first or their 150th game.

"I feel good in the side. It's nice to get that first score under my belt in New Zealand and hopefully I can kick on from there."

Expecting quicker and bouncier wickets in South Africa compared to New Zealand, Pope believed he had the game to adapt to the different surfaces and bowling attack, and he dismissed suggestions it was a good time to play the hosts, given the off-field turmoil that has seen them appoint a new coaching and administrative staff this month.

"There's a lot of chat about that but, looking at their side, they've got some amazing players," Pope said. "They've got a new look in their coaching staff. What goes on off the pitch I don't think always necessarily affects what happens on the pitch, so we're not going to take anything for granted and we're going to expect some really strong opposition."

ST. LOUIS – There simply is no stopping Kyle Larson and Paul Silva in midget competition this winter.

Larson continued his winning ways with his Kyle Larson Racing-owned, iRacing.com/Lucas Oil-sponsored No. 1k by racing to victory during Friday’s second preliminary night for the Gateway Dirt Nationals.

The NASCAR Cup Series star was never outside the top four during the 20-lap main event, but passed race-long leader Michael Pickens with five to go and then held off Cannon McIntosh to the finish.

Larson drove past Pickens with a massive slide job into turn three on the 16th round, and once out in front he never looked back after that.

The win was Larson’s fourth in a row in his last four midget starts, dating back to the finale of the Hangtown 100 at Placerville (Calif.) Speedway last month, and his sixth out of seven with the No. 1k.

“I just was doing such a bad job on the restarts,” said Larson, who had to reel Pickens in from a straightaway back in the final 11 laps. “I couldn’t take off; it took me a couple laps before I could get going pretty good. I was making up a lot of time to Michael on the entry of (turn) one, and then he was also still running a little higher in three and four to where I could make up ground over there, too.

“Once I got by him, it was just about keeping my momentum up to keep him from sliding me (back) once I got to the lead,” added Larson, who drove off to a 1.408-second win over McIntosh in the end. “That was a fun race. The track is rough and technical, but fun and I feel like that’s where we really excel.”

McIntosh finished as the runner-up to Larson, just as he did during the Turkey Night Grand Prix, but it was enough to lock him into the Saturday night finale along with Pickens, who crossed in third.

Tanner Thorson was the first man out in the Hayward Motorsports No. 19, followed by Cole Bodine, making his debut appearance in the Clauson/Marshall Racing-owned Driven2SaveLives No. 39bc.

Dillon Welch, Gio Scelzi, Jonathan Beason, Sean McClelland and Robert Dalby completed the top 10.

NASCAR stars Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were 12th and 17th, respectively.

The finish:

Kyle Larson, Cannon McIntosh, Michael Pickens, Tanner Thorson, Cole Bodine, Dillon Welch, Gio Scelzi, Jonathan Beason, Sean McClelland, Robert Dalby, Dave Darland, Chase Briscoe, Carson Garrett, Jake Neuman, Sammy Swindell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clinton Boyles.

Per usual, several Tiger Woods stories were among the most read on GolfChannel.com this year. But, some of the most clicked on had nothing to do with major victory No. 15 or PGA Tour title No. 82.

Here's a look at the most-read stories on our website in 2019, beginning with Nos. 1-5 in order of popularity:

6. Woods made the right call keeping Reed in the U.S. fold

7. Watch: Golfer drains 100-foot putt for $25,000 at Myrtle Beach World Am

8. Koepka frustrated at Holmes' slow play at The Open

9. Chamblee on Koepka's diet: 'Most reckless self-sabotage I have ever seen'

10. Kuchar defends payment to caddie: 'Making $5,000 is a great week'

11. Spieth calls out caddie after costly shots on Pebble's 8th hole

12. Korean Tour money leader suspended 3 years for obscene gesture

13. Koepka miffed at being left out of U.S. Open promo

14. Fowler, Stokke tie the knot in beach wedding

15. 'He just did not care': Player cards 202 in U.S. Amateur qualifier