Alex Bregman potentially played his last game for the Houston Astros on Wednesday as the team lost in the wild-card to the Detroit Tigers.

The longtime Astros third baseman is set to become an unrestricted free agent this winter, and it's possible Houston won't pick him back up. However, many fans and even his teammates hope the Astros make an offer to him.

Jose Altuve was especially emotional after Wednesday's game, giving Bregman a big hug on the field and telling him "You're coming back."

Altuve spoke to media after the game and advocated for his teammate to be brought back to the organization next season. He can't imagine not playing on the same team as Bregman.

"Now, it's time to make it happen," Altuve said. "We're not going to be the same organization without him. In my mind, there's not a chance this is the last one."

Bregman admitted he hadn't really had time to process Wednesday potentially being his final game in an Astros uniform. He tweeted out a simple message to fans later in the night: "Thank you Houston."

Altuve's been an Astro his entire MLB career, as has Bregman. The two stars have been teammates since Bregman joined the Astros in 2016. They've won two World Series titles together.

Nolan Arenado may be closer to finding a new home.

The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to find a trade partner to take Arenado and the rest of his salary. Arenado has signaled a willingness to move off of third base to help a new team's roster flexibility. With that in mind, the Detroit Tigers might be a fit.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi is reporting the Tigers could emerge as a fit given the team's need for right-handed bats. If Arenado is willing to play first base, the Tigers could be a great fit. Morosi notes that Detroit would likely ask for cash to be included in the deal to help pay Arenado's salary.

Arenado is on the back half of an eight-year, $260 million contract he signed with the Colorado Rockies in February of 2019. He has three seasons left, and will make $21 million in 2025, $16 million in 2026 and $15 million in 2027. His salary for luxury tax purposes will count as $25.555 million in each season. The deal also includes $44 million in deferred money that will run through 2041.

The 33-year-old Arenado is coming off back-to-back subpar seasons by his standards. In 2024, he slashed .272/.325/.394 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs. His OPS (.719) was the lowest he'd produced since his rookie season in 2013.

A change of scenery is likely needed for the eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner. Detroit makes a lot of sense.

Worcestershire have never reached Finals Day in the Vitality Blast and they are putting their faith this season in bolstering their batting strength

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2018

Worcestershire have signed Martin Guptill and Callum Ferguson as overseas players for the Blast T20 competition.Worcestershire, who have never reached Finals Day and finished eighth in the North Group in 2017, have already signed Australian Travis Head as their primary overseas player in the 2018 season. The addition of Guptill, who will be available to play in all formats from June 20 to July 29 (Head is expected to be absent on international duty) and Ferguson, who will take over in the Blast once Guptill departs, provides further batting strength to a team that will also include the England Lion Joe Clarke and six-hit specialist Ross Whiteley.Add the by no means unrealistic prospect that Moeen Ali might not hold his place in the England side, and so be available for at least some of the Blast season, and Worcestershire’s top order could be among the most dangerous in the competitionGuptill, the New Zealand opening batsman, is currently No. 5 in the ICC’s T20 rankings and has been (in 2012) as high as No. 2. He has made two international T20 centuries and, in 2015, plundered an unbeaten 237 against West Indies in an ODI. It is the second highest ODI score of all time.A vastly experienced international player – he has played 47 Tests, 159 ODIs and 75 T20Is – he has also had previous spells in county cricket with Derbyshire and Lancashire. He is expected to be available for eight Blast games before departing for the Caribbean Premier League.While less experienced at international level, Ferguson is a veteran of Australian domestic cricket. If the T20 record – he averages 22.34 and has a strike-rate of 119.43 – looks modest, it should be remembered he bats in the middle-order.”Martin is a world class player,” Worcestershire’s new head coach, Kevin Sharp, said. “With Martin and Travis and the rest of our batting line-up, it will be quite a scary prospect for some opposition sides to think what might happen.”It is exciting for us to sign someone of his quality and I’m sure he is someone all the Rapids supporters will look forward to watching. In white ball, he is a destructive batsman – and his record proves that – and for him to be available for the first eight T20 games is excellent. But he also has a good record in red ball cricket and will also be able to play the two Championship matches in June when Travis is on international duty.”

South Africa have moved down a spot, to No. 2, after losing the ongoing ODI series against India

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2018After winning their first bilateral series in South Africa, India have climbed to the top of the ODI rankings for the third time in six months. India overtook South Africa – who will finish the ongoing series ranked second – after beating them by 73 runs in the fourth ODI in Port Elizabeth. India are also the top-ranked Test team.India had become the No. 1 ODI side after taking a 2-0 lead in the series, but had to win four of six matches to retain that ranking after the series. If India win the final ODI, they will finish with 123 rankings points, and South Africa with 117. South Africa had to either tie or win the ODI series against India to stay at the top of the rankings.India’s series win means England could move past South Africa, to No. 2, if they beat New Zealand 5-0 in the upcoming ODI series. Afghanistan, meanwhile, have also climbed past Zimbabwe to No. 10 on the ODI rankings after winning the third ODI in Sharjah on Tuesday, but will have to win the series to retain that position.

A recap of the key decisions taken by the ECB over where major matches would be held in England and Wales

Andrew McGlashan15-Feb-2018What’s the big deal about the announcement?It set out a raft of venues for major matches – men’s internationals, domestic finals and the new T20 tournament – for the five-year period 2020-2024. It means the counties involved now know when England will be in town, a big occasion for the clubs, and can start thinking more seriously about the new T20 competition (yes, it launches in 2020). While exact schedules won’t be announced until closer to each season it allows the clubs to start planning and to shape their financial situation for the years ahead.Did everyone get what they wanted?No, but you will never keep everyone happy in a process like this. Hampshire, whose ground is the Ageas Bowl, were very hopeful of the big prize of an Ashes Test but that has gone to Headingley. That means another Test in the north of England. Lord’s also lost a long-standing fixture – the domestic one-day final it has staged since it began in 1963 – with Trent Bridge taking that.So who is the biggest winner?Well, probably Headingley for the above reason. They now have Tests against Australia and India in the cycle – the two prime opposition – and the same goes for their Roses rivals Lancashire. Both are also host grounds for the new T20. Lord’s has held on to two Tests a year despite one dropping off the calendar. There will be grumblings about that, but it’s an iconic fixture for any side and usually sells very well. Edgbaston is also cemented as the ‘home’ of T20 finals day.A Test has been cut…so England are playing less cricket?From 2020, yes a little. There will now be six Tests per season – sometimes a marquee five-match series and a one-off match at Lord’s – alongside six ODIs (two series of three under the new FTP), whereas now there can be as many as 10, and six T20Is which is a little increase. So in reality, the number of days of England cricket barely changes.What about the grounds who previously had Tests?As mentioned, Hampshire will be a bit miffed. Durham, the Riverside Ground, knew they wouldn’t be in the mix after their financial problems which needed an ECB bailout while Cardiff didn’t go for any having struggled to sell them. So it’s back to what can be termed the ‘traditional six’ which is, perhaps, also an acknowledgment at some misplaced expansion of the Test field.Has Trent Bridge missed out on another Ashes Test?Indeed, and that will disappoint the England team (going 2-1 up in 2005, a nail-biting win in 2013 and the small matter of 60 all out in 2015), although maybe not the Australians. There is no Ashes Test there in 2019 and now neither in 2023. Nottinghamshire have been diplomatic about it.Test cricket’s a bit London-centric, isn’t it?That could be argued, for sure, with half of each year’s Test allocation now in the capital. However, despite the often steep ticket prices, both Lord’s and The Oval have excellent attendance figures. The English game is fortunate that Tests continue to sell strongly – although not completely across the board – and London does very well.What about day-night Tests?As with exact fixtures and touring schedules, those sorts of details will be firmed up over the coming years. It remains to be seen if day-night Test become a yearly event in England or a little bit more of a novelty factor.Are there any more details on the new T20 tournament yet?Not really. What the teams will be called is the next stage. In ECB speak these are, “eight venues around which new partnerships would be formed and new teams created”. There is also a chance that some matches will be taken out of their host centres to spread the games further around the country; for example a game from Cardiff could be played in Taunton or one from Headingley in Durham. Also, no decision has yet been made on where the play-offs and final will be held.The 2019 World Cup happens before this cycle, but we don’t know those venues yetYes, they are still to be confirmed. That is an ICC event so is managed by them and a local organising committee. An announcement is expected shortly on the host venues for the tournament which runs from May 30 to July 14, 2019.

Kane Williamson took charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad a day after David Warner stepped down, and was later banned from playing IPL 2018

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Mar-20180:37

Quickinfo: Kane Williamson

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson took charge of Sunrisers Hyderabad a day after David Warner was banned from playing IPL 2018 in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal troubling Australian cricket. In accepting the role, Williamson made a point to mention he was “standing in as captain for this season.”On Wednesday, Cricket Australia had slapped one-year bans on Warner, and Steven Smith, for their role in using a foreign substance to change the nature of the ball to generate reverse swing. Soon after that news broke, the BCCI announced that both players would not be allowed to take part in the IPL season. Warner and Smith had already relinquished captaincy of Sunrisers and Rajasthan Royals respectively.Although there were other contenders, like Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers on Thursday chose to appoint Williamson as the interim captain. They had originally bought him in 2015 and regained his services at this year’s auction for USD 468,000. Bhuvneshwar has been appointed vice-captain of the team.BCCI

The franchise’s decision to pick Williamson is likely to raise a few eyebrows. In his previous three seasons with the Sunrisers, Williamson played only 15 matches with a modest record: 411 runs at a strike rate of 129.24 with three half centuries. Also, during a T20I tri-series between New Zealand, England and Australia, former fast bowler Simon Doull was concerned over Williamson’s role in the shortest format, suggesting he should give up T20Is in an effort to manage his workload better.Williamson responded to those comments on the field – scoring a match-winning 72 off 46 balls – and off the field insisting he wanted to play all forms of cricket.

David Munden, photographer and former county batsman, has died at the age of 60 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2018David Munden, the renowned cricket photographer and former county batsman, has died at the age of 60 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease.Munden, who was a fixture on England cricket tours in the 1980s and 1990s, had been on Leicestershire’s books from 1975 until 1981 when, as captain of their second XI, he signed off with a century in his final appearance against Worcestershire at Grace Road.He was a contemporary of David Gower’s at the club, with whom he also represented England Under 19s on their tour of the Caribbean in 1976.”His passion for cricket was evident in the way he took to photographing the game once he realised he would not go on to enjoy a senior county career,” said Mark Baldwin, the chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club.”He was a highly popular and much-respected colleague in and around press boxes at home and abroad. Cruelly, David’s illness eventually forced him to retire from his photographic work and he fought against the debilitations of Parkinson’s for many years.”In 2015, Leicestershire held a fundraising testimonial for Munden at Grace Road, where his father Victor and uncles Donald and Paul had also represented the club.The news of Munden’s death comes in the wake of the loss of Dave Callaghan, the BBC Yorkshire broadcaster, and Neil Bell, the BBC South East sports reporter.”In different ways and across different mediums the three of them contributed much to the promotion and presentation of cricket to a wide audience,” added Baldwin, “and they will be remembered with huge affection. What they shared, meanwhile, was a deep love of cricket and respect for the game.”

Harshal’s unbeaten 36, including a 26-run final over off Dwayne Bravo, proved to be the game-changer, with CSK not yet assured of a top-two spot

The Report by Shashank Kishore18-May-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:13

Is it time for CSK to replace Bravo as their go-to death bowler?

Sandeep Lamichhane was born in the same year Amit Mishra made his first-class debut. Eighteen years on, both legspinners with immeasurable skills and sky-high confidence levels were at the forefront of a superb Delhi Daredevils win that meant Chennai Super Kings are not yet assured of a top-two finish. The pair finished with 3 for 41 off eight overs to tie CSK down after Ambati Rayudu’s 29-ball 50 put them ahead at the halfway mark of the chase.The reply boiled down to MS Dhoni, with CSK needing 58 off 24. On a sluggish surface, this proved a little too steep. Earlier in the evening, Harshal Patel clubbed four sixes and took 26 off Dwayne Bravo’s final over and that gave Delhi Daredevils 162. That proved to be pivotal.Shaw runs out of luck
Prithvi Shaw isn’t a biffer, but can take the attack to the bowlers by trusting his instincts and hitting through the line. On a Feroz Shah Kotla deck with more bounce than usual, he was denied this luxury early on by Deepak Chahar and Lungi Ndigi. So, he became a little adventurous, and the move backfired.Shaw’s innings included a leading edge on the bounce to third man, two miscued slog sweeps that just eluded the backtracking midwicket fielder and a reprieve at mid-on by Shardul Thakur, all in Ravindra Jadeja’s first over, the fourth of the innings. But Chahar triumphed eventually when he had Shaw toe-ending a cross-batted heave to Shardul Thakur at long-on. Daredevils: 24 for 1 in the fifth over.Ngidi gets Pant, again
Twice this season, Rishabh Pant has sold the dummy to his captain. Here, he was nearly undone by Shreyas Iyer, but for Chahar’s underarm throw from mid-on missing the stumps at the bowler’s end in the fifth over. All this played out even as Iyer struggled for timing: his control percentage against three of the five bowlers he faced was less than 66.To offset Iyer’s struggle, Pant launched into Harbhajan Singh in the ninth over, hitting two sixes and a slashed cut for four as Daredevils pocketed 17 to move to 77 for 1 in 10 overs. The platform was set, only for it to come crashing down as Ndigi’s double-strike set them back in the 11th over.Iyer fell first, bowled backing away to cut a delivery that cramped him for room. Off the next ball, Pant’s ugly across-the-line hoick to one he was forced to reach out for resulted in a slice to third man. When Glenn Maxwell was out bowled, attempting a reverse sweep to a full Jadeja dart, Daredevils were in trouble at 94 for 4.Bravo’s death execution comes apart
Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel at No. 5 and No. 7 respectively may have been a tad too high. They chose to disprove that notion with a stunning late assault that yielded 65 off just 32 balls. The destroyer was Harshal – no more than a pinch-hitter in domestic cricket – who used the depth of the crease superbly to muscle four sixes – three peppering the sightscreen. Dwayne Bravo got his execution wrong, the dipping slower deliveries gave way to full tosses and the last over was taken for 26. Harshal finished 36 not out off 16 deliveries with Bravo’s figures reading a dismal 4-0-52-0 as Daredevils finished with 162.An unusually slow CSK start
Shane Watson struggled for timing and ploughed his way to 13 off 20 as CSK crawled to 22 without loss in five overs. Rayudu then got stuck into Avesh Khan, pulling him for three sixes and a flat-batted slap for four in the sixth over to break the shackles. Then there was a bit of drama.Mishra first had Watson miscuing to long-off and then bamboozled Suresh Raina first ball with a googly that took the edge, only for Pant to fluff the chance. This proved to be the trigger for Rayudu to continue his sustained attack to bring up a 28-ball half-century. But he fell off the next ball to a hoick that was well held by Glenn Maxwell to leave CSK at 70 for 2 in 10 overs.Game-changer Harshal steps up
CSK’s veterans had the platform, but also knew manufacturing strokes off length balls on a sluggish surface wouldn’t be easy. This resulted in desperation. Raina’s heave to a Lamichhane googly was caught at deep midwicket. Sam Billings’ dismissal soon after left Dhoni having to do the bulk of the hitting with CSK needing 58 of 24.Enter Harshal, with the confidence of a cameo behind him. His third over went for for just three and Daredevils tightened the noose from there on. By the time he bowled out, with figures of 4-0-23-1, CSK needed 39 off the final over.

ESPNcricinfo suggests five county players to keep an eye on

Subhankar Bhattacharya12-Apr-2018ESPNcricinfo suggests five county players to keep an eye onJoe Clarke (Worcestershire, 21)
“He could be the new Joe Root,” said Worcestershire’s head coach Kevin Sharp about Joe Clarke and considering England’s lack of Test runs they could do with another one. Clarke has got age on his side and his 920 runs last season helped Worcestershire win promotion. Could Clarke play under Root’s captaincy this summer?
Alex Davies (Lancashire, 23)
Another youngster who made waves in 2017 was Alex Davies. Lancashire’s keeper-batsman was the county’s highest run-scorer in the Championship and became the county’s first keeper to score 1000 first class runs in a season. Competition is rife for the England keeping spot, with Ben Foakes the next in line, but Davies can add himself to the shortlist with another strong season.

Jamie Porter (Essex, 24)
If Essex were to credit one player for their remarkable Division 1 triumph in 2017, it would probably be Jamie Porter. Porter and Simon Harmer shared 147 wickets, Porter a shade ahead of the offie with 75 wickets at 16.83 apiece. Porter does not bowl at express speeds – he remains within the 80mph mark – but he can move the ball both ways with surgical accuracy. England’s James Anderson will inevitably have to call it a day and, with options limited, Porter will not have abandoned hopes of Test honours.
Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire, 20)
Matthew Fisher’s career has encountered more injury speedbumps than he would like, but Yorkshire need a strong showing from this lanky pace bowler to offset absences elsewhere. His Yorkshire teammate Tim Bresnan famously predicted: “I think he is going to be an unbelievable bowler” and if he remains injury free he can begin to prove it.
Hamidullah Qadri (Derbyshire, 17)
When he made his debut for Derbyshire in June last year, Hamidullah Qadri became the first county cricketer to have been born in the 21st Century. Besides this unique accolade, Qadri also made headlines for bowling Derbyshire to victory in his very first game. The Afghanistan-born off spinner claimed 5 for 60 against Glamorgan in the second innings. More chances are bound to come as the season progresses.

Ollie Rayner has a chance to discover some form after losing his Middlesex place to Ravi Patel

George Dobell19-Jun-2018Ollie Rayner has joined Hampshire from Middlesex on a short-term loan deal.Hampshire are currently without leg-spinner Mason Crane (who has suffered a recurrence of back pain as he recovers from a stress
fracture), off-spinner Brad Taylor (who has an ankle injury) and will shortly lose left-arm spinner, Liam Dawson, to England Lions duty.Off-spinner Rayner – good enough to claim 50 Championship wickets when Middlesex won the Championship in 2016 and win a place in the Lions side – will therefore provide spin-bowling cover for the upcoming Championship matches against Yorkshire (starting on Wednesday) and Lancashire (starting on Monday).It shows, however, that Rayner has dropped out of the Middlesex first team for the moment. After a trying start to the season – Rayner has
claimed four wickets in five Championship matches for Middlesex this season at an average of 64.50 – he has lost his place to the left-arm
spinner, Ravi Patel.The loan deal lasts a month but Middlesex can recall him at any time if their needs change.”It’s great that Angus Fraser and Middlesex have allowed him to come to us and he’ll play a part in the next couple of Championship games,”
Giles White, the Hamphiire director of cricket, said. “He’s a good bowler and has done well for Middlesex over the years. He bats and
catches well at second slip too so it’s a good fit for us.”Hampshire are currently in seventh position in Division One in need of a victory or two to lift them away from relegation fears. Middlesex
are seventh in Division Two and struggling to sustain the promotion challenge that most anticipated. Both sides have just the one
Championship victory so far this season.”I’m obviously disappointed to not be featuring in the forthcoming round of Championship matches for Middlesex,” Rayner said. “However
when one door closes, another one opens, and I’ve now got a great opportunity to go and play some first eleven cricket with Hampshire.””As with a lot of loan agreements this is a win-win situation for both Middlesex and Ollie,” the club’s Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser,
said. “Having chosen to pick Ravi Patel ahead of Ollie this week, Ollie was extremely keen to play some first-class cricket, and
Hampshire’s predicament has allowed this to happen.”Should Middlesex’s situation change we have the right to recall Ollie to the club.”