The Los Angeles Angels announced their acquisition of veteran right-hander Alex Cobb from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night in a deal that might solidify the team's starting-pitching depth for 2021.

The Angels will part with young utility player Jahmai Jones as part of the deal. They will pay only a third of the $15 million owed to Cobb in 2021, some of which is deferred, according to The Athletic.

Cobb, 33, established himself early on with the Tampa Bay Rays, going 32-21 with a 3.19 ERA in 446 innings in his mid-20s from 2012 to 2014, then spent most of the next two years recovering from Tommy John surgery. He compiled 331⅔ innings and a 4.23 ERA from 2017 to 2018 and was named the Orioles' Opening Day starter to begin 2019, but he was limited to only three starts that year and underwent hip surgery.

Cobb remained healthy for most of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, posting a 4.30 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 18 walks in 52⅓ innings. He joins an Angels rotation that is also expected to include Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and Shohei Ohtani, who will return to a two-way role.

All of the players acquired by first-year general manager Perry Minasian -- Cobb, Quintana, shortstop Jose Iglesias, closer Raisel Iglesias, catcher Kurt Suzuki and lefty reliever Alex Claudio -- will be free agents at season's end.

Designated hitter Nelson Cruz and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Cruz, 40, has been a linchpin of the Bomba Squad Twins' lineup. And he'll be back right in the middle of it in 2021.

The slugger, who hit .303 with 16 home runs, 33 RBIs and a career-high OPS+ (169) in the pandemic-shortened season, finished sixth in the American League MVP voting and was selected as the Marvin Miller Man of Year in the annual Players Choice Awards.

The award goes to the player whom his peers "most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community." Cruz donated a fire engine and an ambulance and helped build a police station in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the Dominican Republic, and his Boomstick 23 Foundation has contributed wheelchairs and crutches, and he set up a clinic to provide medical and dental care.

His mission to help his hometown and other towns in the Dominican Republic led to him receiving the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2020 ESPYS.

The designated hitter played last season on a $12 million deal after swatting a team-high 41 home runs while reaching 108 RBIs in 2019, despite two stints on the injured list for a wrist problem. He has reached the 40-homer mark four times in his career; Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth hold the all-time mark with five seasons. Cruz also was the 57th player in major league history to reach 400 career home runs.

His .992 OPS in 2020 ranked fourth in the AL and was the fifth-best mark in MLB history by a player in his age-39 season or older, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. And he led all major leaguers with a 1.182 OPS on pitches in the strike zone over the past two seasons.

From 2014 to 2018, no player in the majors hit more home runs than Cruz (203). In 16 major league seasons, Cruz, a six-time All-Star who has three Silver Slugger Awards, has hit 417 home runs with 1,152 RBIs and a .278 batting average for the Twins, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers and Brewers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TORONTO -- Veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano has agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that includes an invitation to spring training, according to the Toronto Sun.

Liriano did not pitch in the majors during the pandemic-altered 2020 season. He was in camp with Philadelphia on a minor league deal when the Phillies released him in July before Opening Day.

He went 5-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 69 relief appearances for Pittsburgh in 2019, striking out 63 and walking 35 in 70 innings.

Liriano, an All-Star as a rookie with Minnesota in 2006, is 112-114 with a 4.15 ERA in 300 starts and 119 relief outings over 14 major league seasons with the Twins, White Sox, Pirates, Blue Jays, Astros and Tigers.

He pitched for Toronto in 2016 and 2017 before getting traded to Houston for outfielders Teoscar Hernández and Nori Aoki.

Liriano won a World Series ring with the 2017 Astros, making five short relief appearances during the postseason that year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OCALA, Fla. – Shane Clanton won his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season on Tuesday night at Bubba Raceway Park.

The victory for Clanton came in the final night of the K&N Filters Winter Nationals – Presented by OPTIMA Batteries and served as the finale of the series’ Florida Speedweeks. It was Clanton’s first series victory since September of 2019.

Clanton took the lead on lap 22 of the 40-lap main event from Bobby Pierce and went on for his fifth series victory. Pierce finished second followed by Tanner English, Tim McCreadie and Jimmy Owens.

The race saw three different leaders as Owens bolted from his pole starting spot to lead the first seven laps of the race. Pierce caught Owens in traffic, passing him for the lead on the eighth circuit. Owens tried to get back by Pierce, but made contact with the backstretch wall.

Clanton started to use the outside line as he passed Owens for second on lap 21. A lap later he got by Pierce for the lead, which he held the rest of the way.

The win for Clanton made him the eighth different winner in the first nine series races of the season.

“Our hats are off to Bubba and his guys, they gave us two grooves and a great track tonight,” Clanton said. “The top took a while to get run in. It was a little greasy up there, but at the end it came alive. We worked hard to get by Bobby. I  just made the right move at the right time I think.”

Pierce’s best series finish of the season left him .568 seconds behind Clanton at the finish.

“To run second at this track is great,” said Pierce. “This is just the third time I have ever raced on this track, it’s pretty good. I probably needed to move up there. It is hard to see your guys here in the corner, on where they’re telling you to run. I think overall Shane was just a little bit better. He’s always good racing these kinds of race tracks.”

English earned his best finish of the season with his third-place showing.

“You have just got to be up front at end of the race,” Pierce said. “Last year I ran the series for the first-time, and I learned that these guys don’t mess up. You have to be smooth and you have to take advantage of situations when you can. I passed a few cars that slipped up in turn two, but not enough to get the win. We will take this finish happily after the speedweeks we’ve had.”

The finish:

Shane Clanton, Bobby Pierce, Tanner English, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Erb, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., Rick Eckert, Kyle Bronson, Mike Marlar, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Jadon Frame, Brandon Overton, Matt Cosner, Ross Robinson, Mark Whitener, Earl Pearson Jr., Tyler Bruening, Billy Moyer Jr., Josh Richards, Kyle Strickler, Devin Dixon.

Australia's T20I squad to tour New Zealand for five matches later this month will remain unchanged despite the postponement of the Test series in South Africa.

The need for pre-departure protocols for the squad, which will fly out on February 7 and begin two weeks managed isolation in Christchurch, means late changes were never going to be considered by Australia.

A number of first-choice T20 players were in the Test squad - including David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc - and the need for separate touring parties opened the door for some fringe and new players to be included for the New Zealand series with the squad coached by Andrew McDonald.

"We were pretty clear when we announced the two squads they would be the two squads," Nick Hockley, the CA interim chief executive, said. "The reality is the T20 squad has started its pre-departure protocols to enable it to move safely into New Zealand. We always knew logistically we'd have to pick two separate squads.

"We've given ourselves every chance to make South Africa happen. Unfortunately that hasn't transpired. What that means is we're committed with the T20 squad that's announced and we won't be changing it."

The scrubbing of the South Africa tour and the fact none of those players will be heading across the Tasman opens the prospect of a strengthened Sheffield Shield tournament if that competition resumes as scheduled after the BBL.

There remains some uncertainty due to border restrictions - particularly following the recent lockdown of Perth - but the Sheffield Shield is currently due to restart on February 12 with the One-Day Cup following on the 16th.

The competition, which was played in an Adelaide-based hub earlier in the season, has been trimmed to nine rounds with it set to stretch well into April. If the New Zealand and South Africa tours had run concurrently some states would have had to delve deep into their reserves over the next couple of months.

It remains to be seen how many of the frontline Test players do return to domestic action or whether they are afforded the opportunity of an extended break, but for those who were in the hub without playing - the likes of Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson, Sean Abbott, James Pattinson and Moises Henriques - there is now the prospect of some competitive first-class cricket.

With the domestic season due to extend until late April it is likely to overlap with the next edition of the IPL as it did when the delayed 2020 tournament was held in October and November last year.

T20I squad Aaron Finch (capt), Matthew Wade (vc), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa

Bangladesh chose to bat vs West Indies

Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque opted to bat in the first Test against West Indies in Chattogram as the visitors handed debuts to allrounders Shayne Moseley, Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner.

After a 3-0 cruise in the ODI series, Bangladesh are once again favourites despite having not played a Test in 12 months. They went with three spinners (Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nayeem Hasan and Taijul Islam) and one seamer (Mustafizur Rahman), while Shakib Al Hasan also returned after recovering from his groin injury.

West Indies, too, are buoyed by the inclusion of Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach but given the slow nature of the pitch, they also included two spinners in Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican.

Bangladesh 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Nayeem Hasan, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

West Indies 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Shayne Moseley, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 7 Kyle Mayers, 8 Rahkeem Cornwall, 9 Jomel Warrican, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Before this season began, Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet set a record by signing the biggest contract for an undrafted free agent in NBA history: four years, $85 million.

Tuesday night, VanVleet added two other records to his name by scoring 54 points in Toronto's 123-108 victory over the Orlando Magic, the most ever by an undrafted player in NBA history, surpassing Moses Malone's record of 53, as well as besting DeMar DeRozan's franchise record of 52.

"Unbelievable. I'm very humbled and honored to be in the same sentence as both of those guys," said VanVleet, who finished the game 17-for-23 from the field, 11-for-14 from the 3-point line and 9-for-9 from the line. He also had three rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks in 37 minutes.

"Just a special night, obviously, a lot of different levels," he said. "So just trying to enjoy it for now, but it's not a championship or anything like that.

"It was a good game for me, and I'll enjoy all the love for a couple hours, and get ready for the next one."

Given the way VanVleet and the Raptors played throughout this game, it would've been understandable for someone who didn't see the box score to think it just a run-of-the-mill good game for VanVleet. He took only those 23 shots, and he, teammate Kyle Lowry and head coach Nick Nurse all said it was noteworthy after the game how easy the game came to him.

VanVleet had 17 points in the first quarter, 28 by halftime and then scored reached 46 by the end of the third quarter. A pair of free throws and three layups in the fourth allowed him to surpass both Malone and DeRozan and go into the record books.

"It was easy," said VanVleet. "No disrespect to the Magic. But I mean, for most of those I was open. They were in rhythm. They were clean looks. They were within the offense. That's why I was able to remain patient and still pass out of double teams and not take bad shots because of the way I got all my points. There were maybe one or two quick, bad shots, if that.

"Most of those were in rhythm, within the offense, playing in the flow of the game, and I even told the guys, 'you guys keep playing.' I could feel them start to look for me to the point where they weren't looking at the rim any more. I wanted to win more than I wanted 50 points. Just trying to continue to play with a pure heart and let the game come to me, and I was rewarded for that."

The record-setting bucket came with 3:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, when VanVleet made a layup that came, fittingly, off an assist from his close friend, and backcourt partner, Kyle Lowry.

VanVleet said after the game that DeRozan, his former teammate, would text him every time he had a big game previously, and tease him for not getting DeRozan's record of 52 points. After the game, DeRozan posted a tweet congratulating VanVleet -- and also picking on Lowry for not doing it himself, saying the veteran was "too old" to do so.

Congrats to my brotha Freddy V! Kyle old ass couldn't do it. Glad you did champ! Been telling you!

— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) February 3, 2021

For his part, Lowry agreed.

"I seen DeMar sent out the tweet saying I was too old to get it, and I am," Lowry said with a smile. "But my two guys, DeMar and Freddie, have the records, and even Terrence [Ross] is in there, and I was able to witness all three of those 50-point games. They all are special to me.

"Tonight is really special, because it came from a kid who was undrafted, worked his way to an NBA player and an NBA starter, and possibly this year an All-Star and possibly an All-Defensive Player. That's what makes it really special."

VanVleet said later that DeRozan called him on FaceTime to congratulate him while the team was in the locker room. He said DeRozan was on his mind as he tried chasing down the franchise record in the fourth quarter.

"[He was] just congratulating me, reminding me again that I was gonna get cussed out if I didn't beat his record," VanVleet said. "We've had that conversation a few times when I've had big games and I've had a chance to go for it. In the past I've kind of shied away from being thirsty, so tonight, just tried to keep my foot on the gas a little bit more."

While VanVleet ultimately was unable to chase down either Donyell Marshall's single-game franchise record of 12 3-pointers made, or Klay Thompson's NBA record of 14, he certainly didn't have any problem getting into the flow of the offense. He went 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter alone, before making three more in both the second and third quarters.

VanVleet got one look from the wing to tie Marshall's record in the fourth but missed it. He was removed from the game a short time later with the records secure and the game well in hand.

What was noteworthy, however, was how much his teammates and Nurse celebrated his accomplishment. VanVleet himself even admitted they were more excited about it than him. Nurse and Lowry marveled at the work VanVleet has put in since going undrafted from Wichita State to now surpassing records set by a franchise icon in DeRozan and a Hall of Famer in Malone.

"Man, I think it's an incredible statement," Nurse said. "I mean it's incredible to be an undrafted guy and to do that. It really is. It's incredible.

"He's got a pedigree for winning every team he's been on his whole life. He took a smaller mid major university to incredible seasons, obviously had that game six fourth quarter in the championship finals, but again undrafted and tremendous just competitor, worker, thinker, all that stuff."

Shortstop Andrelton Simmons says that depression and thoughts of suicide led to his decision to opt out during the last week of the Los Angeles Angels' 2020 regular season, telling the Orange County Register that "the idea of finishing the season in a bubble was too much for me to handle."

Simmons, who recently finalized a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, chose to share his story in writing, through a series of Twitter direct messages, instead of verbally, because "it is still difficult to articulate certain things or be open."

The Angels announced on Sept. 22 that Simmons had opted out of the final five games of the regular season. No additional information was provided, though Simmons said in a statement that he felt it was "the best decision for me and for my family." At the time, the Angels remained mathematically in the race for the second wild card and second place in the AL West. Although their chances of reaching the postseason were slim, league rules required that potential playoff teams begin quarantining that week in preparation for upcoming playoff games.

"It was tough for me mentally to where the thought of suicide crossed my mind," Simmons told the Register. "It was something I vowed a long time ago I would never consider again. I was fortunate to talk to a therapist, which helped me let go of those thoughts. At the end when a lot of people were still going through what most would think of as tough times, the idea of finishing the season in a bubble was too much for me to handle."

Simmons played in just 30 games during the abbreviated regular season, missing time due to an ankle he injured for a third straight summer. He told the Register it was difficult to focus on baseball when so many people were struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"First time was driving through Oakland and seeing some of the shops and restaurants trying to stay open with all the homeless people camping outside," he said. "That's when it really hit me."

Simmons began communicating with a therapist, but his hesitations about entering a playoff bubble persisted.

"I was really saddened by how much I was hearing about the death toll, and seeing how smaller businesses were going out of business and I was a little depressed at how the effects of all the new rules and fears were gonna affect people's livelihoods and how disconnected people were becoming," he said.

Simmons told the Register he wasn't forthcoming about his reasons for opting out at the time "because I don't like the idea of having to explain every detail of my life" and "was afraid of people judging and people twisting my story." But he said he changed his mind when he realized that being open about his situation could help others who are struggling.

Information from ESPN's Alden Gonzalez was used in this report.

A formal offer from Cricket Australia to play next month's scheduled Test series in Australia was rejected by Cricket South Africa. CA's interim chief executive Nick Hockley confirmed discussions of the Australia scenario as he explained why the "risk profile" of the tour had become unacceptable even if lavish biosecurity measures were taken.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, there were discussions between the two boards about potentially shifting the series across the Indian Ocean to Australia, specifically to play it in Perth, where South Africa have long enjoyed a strong record of success.

However, Hockley explained that the proposal fell down largely because CSA argued the extra time and money required for staging the series in Australia would make a range of other commitments impossible for South Africa to fulfil. Talks around a neutral venue such as the UAE were also shot down for similar reasons.

"We've been doing an enormous amount of work with CSA and we have last night's decision, so we'll work through over the coming weeks and months when we may be able to reschedule the series," Hockley said. "We did offer to host the series here, but CSA made that very clear that they've also got lots of other commitments and with quarantine periods and the like, that wasn't feasible.

"We didn't explore [neutral venues] in too much detail, the question if you think about a neutral venue is where, and there are challenges in lots of different jurisdictions, so certainly we made the formal offer to host and CSA, which we respect entirely, made their position very clear and we've continued to work as hard as we can to try to make it happen. But we came to a point where people were starting to commit costs, people were starting to have to do pre-departure protocols and enter into biosecure environments in South Africa in preparation.

"I think we gave ourselves every shot, we couldn't have left it any later, but in the end that residual risk, the implications if we did get a positive, the chances of getting a positive, meant we really didn't have any other decision."

CA will not be asking the ICC to delay the World Test Championship final, leaving the team's destiny in the hands of India and England, who could allow Australia to wriggle through to the decider against New Zealand in the event of a drawn or close series over coming weeks. Even then, there are no guarantees Australia would be able to travel to the UK for the final.

"We have done everything we possibly can to make this tour happen and it's a very difficult and challenging situation in South Africa just now and that's what makes it even more heartbreaking that we're not able to go."

Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia interim CEO

"We all knew the rules going in and I think that's what's made this decision really, really hard," Hockley said. "We've done everything we possibly can to make the tour go ahead but in the end we had to listen to the overwhelming medical advice, so we won't be pursuing that with the ICC, but it's just another reason why not being able to tour is so disappointing.

"I don't think you can guarantee anything, that's one thing we've learned. You certainly can't guarantee how quickly things change. Thankfully for this home summer there's been community transmission at stages but the prevalence has been relatively low. It's still been massively challenging to play the home summer. I can't speak highly enough of the players, they've been away in biosecure bubbles, and if it comes that we qualify for the Test Championship that's now out of our hands. It's reliant on other results, then we'll have to look at the situation at the time."

Summing up the reasons for the decision not to tour, Hockley said they came down to the facts of South Africa's second wave and uncertainties about the return of any players or staff to Australia in the event that they caught one of the newer, more virulent strains of Covid-19. He also accepted the anger with which CA's call was met by CSA.

"What happened during the process is really two things. South Africa very sadly have hit the peak of their second wave, and then secondly we've got the more virulent strain, which there's still lots of unknowns around," he said. "So as we've worked through the residual risk and also some questions and challenges around if we were to get a case how and when we can get our players back home, taking advice of medical experts and putting health and safety absolutely No. 1, we were really left with no option.

"We've spoken to the players' association at length, I've spoken to the coach…the players are disappointed, they want to play cricket, they want to appear in the World Test Championship, they want to play Test cricket, they want to get back on the horse after this recent India series. They're very disappointed and we all went into this endeavour and all worked very hard to make this tour happen.

"I think the reaction - obviously we've spoken to our equivalents at length - I think the reaction from CSA is totally understandable and we share their disappointment given the power of work everyone's put in to try to make this tour go ahead."

As for accusations that CA had put money before cricket in thus far only playing international series against England and India (they are also due to tour New Zealand later this month for T20Is) while postponing every other scheduled encounter, Hockley was blunt in his riposte.

"I'd refute those in the strongest possible terms," he said. "The reality of Afghanistan was it was one Test match and we were looking at a month's quarantine, in and back potentially, certainly two weeks on the lead-in for one Test, and we're looking to rearrange that for this coming season.

"We have done everything we possibly can to make this tour happen and it's a very difficult and challenging situation in South Africa just now and that's what makes it even more heartbreaking that we're not able to go.

"All I can say is we play every ball on its merits. We've learned a fortune since we've started, we've got the best medical advisers, everyone's becoming much more adept at the protocol and also risk assessment and unfortunately at this current time in South Africa we've just been presented with a risk profile which is significantly greater than anything we've encountered to date."

TAMPA, Fla. -- With Tom Brady leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an NFC championship and a trip to Super Bowl LV, fans are gobbling up all they can in Brady and Bucs merchandise.

Fanatics, the NFL's official e-commerce partner, said Brady has become their best-selling NFL player ever for the two-week period between the conference championship and Super Bowl.

Sunday will mark Brady's 10th Super Bowl appearance.

The retailer also told ESPN that the Northeast is continuing to support Brady with the New England Patriots out of the playoffs.

While the top-selling market for Brady merchandise since the conference championship is Tampa, with Orlando and Miami being the third- and fifth-ranked markets, New York has jumped to second and Boston has fluctuated between third and fourth over the past several days.

Brady's merchandise sales -- which include jerseys, T-shirts and other items -- are also more than double what they were following his last conference championship appearance in 2018, and it took just three days after this year's conference title game for sales to hit what they did in the full two-week period in 2018, the retailer said.

Brady's Bucs jersey was Fanatics' No. 1-selling jersey across all sports from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1 of 2020; the NFLPA lists him as second in sales for the whole 2020 season, behind Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the most-sold jersey.

Brady had the NFLPA's highest-selling jersey with the Patriots in 2018 and 2019, and saw his jersey sales go up 900% since joining the Bucs last March. For perspective, the Bucs didn't have a player in the top 50 of NFLPA jersey sales in 2018 or 2019.