ST. LOUIS (AP) — Carlos Beltran and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a two-year contract pending results of a physical, a move that would fortify the team’s lineup following the departure of Albert Pujols. The team disclosed the agreement Thursday night and said it expects to make a formal announcement shortly after the holidays. KMOX, the Cardinals’ flagship radio station, reported the deal is for $26 million over two years — the same figure cited by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details of the agreement were not announced by the team. The 34-year-old Beltran batted .300 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .385 on-base percentage for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants this year. He likely will be the opening-day right fielder for the Cardinals next season. Lance Berkman is expected to move to first base, taking Pujols’ spot.

Beltran and Berkman are switch-hitters, giving new manager Mike Matheny lineup flexibility. Earlier this month, St. Louis re-signed shortstop Rafael Furcal to a two-year, $14 million contract and added left-handed reliever J.C. Romero with a one-year, $750,000 deal. The Cardinals appear to need only a few spare parts to finalize the roster. After Pujols signed a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he expected his team’s payroll to perhaps exceed this year’s total of $110 million.

Allen Craig, coming off an impressive postseason, gives the Cardinals another strong option in the outfield but will miss at least the first month of the season while recovering from knee surgery. A six-time All-Star, Beltran began his career with the cross-state Royals in 1998, three years after Kansas City drafted him in the second round. The switch-hitter has a .283 career batting average with 302 home runs and 1,146 RBIs. Beltran faced the Cardinals in a pair of NL championship series, in 2004 with Houston and 2006 with the Mets. St. Louis won both series despite several big hits by Beltran. With a chance to put the Mets in the World Series, however, he struck out looking to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa flew through the first six weeks of the season without a tight game. The Hawkeyes finally got a late-game test — and passed — less than a week before the start of Big Ten play. None of Iowa’s first 12 games were closer than 10 points, but the Hawkeyes needed some big plays in the final minutes to beat Boise State 81-72 Thursday night. Devyn Marble and Aaron White each scored 18 points to lead Iowa. Melsahn Basabe had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (8-5), who ended their nonconference slate with three straight wins. Kenny Buckner led the Broncos (9-4) with 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting. Earlier this week, McCaffery said playing Boise State would be like going up against a Big Ten team. He’ll find out soon how that will really look. The Hawkeyes open Big Ten play against Purdue at home on Wednesday.

• Sioux City East 67, Abraham Lincoln 23

• Abraham Lincoln 51, Sioux City East 37