Latest news with #Milwaukee
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A.O. Smith lifts annual profit forecast, considers China partnership
(Reuters) -Water heater maker A.O. Smith will consider strategic partnerships and other alternatives for its China business, it said on Thursday after raising its annual profit forecast. "We believe the China market has substantial long-term prospects and are committed to realizing the potential upside inherent in the company's China business for our company," CEO Steve Shafer said. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company is banking on higher market share in the second half of the year and cost savings from its restructuring actions. It now expects annual adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.70 to $3.90, compared with its previous forecast of $3.60 to $3.90. Analysts on an average expected $3.78 per share for 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG. But second quarter revenue fell about 1% from a year ago to $1.01 billion. Sales from other parts of the world, including China and India, also fell nearly 2% to $240.1 million. Net income for the quarter ended June 30 was $152.2 million billion, or $1.07 per share, compared with $156.2 million, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier.
Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Business
- Reuters
A.O. Smith lifts annual profit forecast, considers China partnership
July 24 (Reuters) - Water heater maker A.O. Smith (AOS.N), opens new tab will consider strategic partnerships and other alternatives for its China business, it said on Thursday after raising its annual profit forecast. "We believe the China market has substantial long-term prospects and are committed to realizing the potential upside inherent in the company's China business for our company," CEO Steve Shafer said. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company is banking on higher market share in the second half of the year and cost savings from its restructuring actions. It now expects annual adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.70 to $3.90, compared with its previous forecast of $3.60 to $3.90. Analysts on an average expected $3.78 per share for 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG. But second quarter revenue fell about 1% from a year ago to $1.01 billion. Sales from other parts of the world, including China and India, also fell nearly 2% to $240.1 million. Net income for the quarter ended June 30 was $152.2 million billion, or $1.07 per share, compared with $156.2 million, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: The red-hot Brewers are ripe for both offense and steals this weekend
With less than a week to go until the MLB trade deadline, many mid-level clubs will be doing everything in their power to move up the standings this weekend. Fantasy baseball managers who need offense this weekend would be wise to grab multiple players from the Orioles and Brewers. On the pitching side, Ryne Nelson and Dean Kremer are the players to add, although there are several other hurlers listed at the bottom of this article who could make useful contributions. Matchups to Target Orioles vs. Rockies After improving during June, Baltimore's offense ranks 29th in runs scored this month. They could get back on track this weekend, when they face a Rockies pitching staff with a 5.50 ERA. Ramón Laureano (16%) has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, making him a must-add player in any league for this series. Ryan O'Hearn (29%) and Cedric Mullins (51%) are also solid options. Brewers vs. Marlins The red-hot Brewers could start off their weekend series on a high note when they face Cal Quantrill (5.24 ERA) on Friday and Jansen Junk (6.3 K/9 rate) on Saturday. Their Sunday matchup with Eury Pérez is challenging but not intimidating. Isaac Collins (4%) remains widely available despite becoming a five-category contributor, making him the player to target. Managers can also consider Caleb Durbin (22%), Andrew Vaughn (9%) and Joey Ortiz (6%). Phillies @ Yankees The Phillies could feast on Will Warren and Marcus Stroman on Friday and Saturday before engaging in a tougher matchup with Carlos Rodón on Sunday. The key members of this lineup are widely rostered, but Otto Kemp (2%) is someone to consider while he fills in for Alec Bohm at third base. Brandon Marsh (3%) could also have success against righties in the initial two games. Mariners @ Angels Although Seattle's run total may be good rather than great, they should have plenty of baserunners against José Soriano (1.43 WHIP), Tyler Anderson (1.41 WHIP), Kyle Hendricks (1.29 WHIP) and a bullpen with a 1.48 WHIP. Jorge Polanco (31%) has recently broken out of a slump, and rookie Cole Young (2%) has fared well in July. J.P. Crawford (21%) has a low ceiling but is typically effective out of the leadoff spot. Rangers vs. Braves Atlanta is running out of starting pitchers, which leaves the hot-hitting Rangers to face Joey Wentz (5.71 ERA) on Friday and Bryce Elder (5.63 ERA) on Sunday. Josh Smith (35%) could score a few runs out of the leadoff spot, and Josh Jung (27%) may be ready to turn around a forgettable season after recently being recalled from the Minors. Matchups to Avoid Athletics @ Astros The Athletics could struggle on Friday and Sunday, when they face Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez. Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom are the three lineup members who should stay active everywhere. [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] Angels vs. Mariners The Angels will face the toughest part of the Mariners elite rotation when they draw Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert this weekend. Zach Neto and Mike Trout are the two must-start Angels, and Taylor Ward will remain active in some leagues. Seeking Saves Kevin Ginkel, D-backs (10% Rostered) Cubs closer Danny Palencia (53%) is the saves source to add in shallow leagues, but he has been mentioned often enough in this space. Instead, I'll go with Ginkel, who is working the ninth inning in a depleted Arizona bullpen. Ginkel has logged a 2.31 ERA since June 20, and he could get multiple save chances when the D-backs face the 42-61 Pirates. Seeking Steals Isaac Collins, OF, Brewers (4% Rostered) Collins has been a revelation for the red-hot Brewers, hitting .299 with an .873 OPS since June 1. He has also flashed speed by swiping 11 bases in 217 at-bats this year. The outfielder could add to his swipes total when he faces a Marlins team that has allowed 14 more steals than any other club. Caleb Durbin (22%) is another good candidate to swipe a base. Streaming starters In order, here are the best streamers for the weekend, with their start date and Yahoo! roster rate in brackets. Ryne Nelson @ PIT (Friday, 42%) Dean Kremer vs. COL (Friday, 33%) José Soriano vs. SEA (Friday, 37%) Cade Horton @ CWS (Saturday, 14%) Jacob Lopez @ HOU (Saturday, 19%) Jose Quintana vs. MIA (Saturday, 21%) Tomoyuki Sugano vs. COL (Sunday, 12%) Zebby Matthews vs. WSH (Saturday, 17%) Jeffrey Springs @ HOU (Friday, 35%)
New York Times
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Rosenthal: A plea to the Brewers' owner, a potential Dodgers trade chip and more MLB notes
I'm here to make a case for the Milwaukee Brewers to add Eugenio Suárez, or at the very least, bullpen help. But first, I'm going to tell on myself: Shortly after the start of spring training, I wrote the following: 'Brewers owner Mark Attanasio keeps getting away with it. His front office is that shrewd, his managers that skilled, his players that devoted to succeeding as underdogs. Advertisement 'Yet, as Attanasio continues to clamp down on spending, his team's margin for error keeps shrinking. And if this is the season his frugality finally costs the Brewers, he will deserve some, if not most, of the blame.' Somewhere, Attanasio is cackling hysterically. His frugality clearly is not costing the Brewers, who own the best record in the majors. And to any suggestion he should authorize a payroll increase at the trade deadline, he can rightly ask, 'Why should I?' The St. Louis Cardinals for much of this century were renowned for their 'devil magic.' No one has coined as catchy a phrase to describe Milwaukee's strange brew. But year after year, the Brewers rebound from any number of impediments – injuries, trades, free-agent departures, losses of managers, coaches and executives – to produce contending teams. This year's club, featuring the unheralded likes of Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin and Andrew Vaughn, to name only a few, should have Attanasio particularly excited. The owner lives in the Los Angeles area. The Brewers went 6-0 against the defending World Series champion Dodgers, a sweep to stir small-market souls. Well, if the Brewers are preparing to make a play on Suárez or some other unsuspecting trade candidate, they sure aren't acting like it. Ask club officials about upgrading the left side of the infield, and they respond as if Joey Ortiz and Durbin are Derek Jeter and Alex Rodríguez. Ask them about reinforcing the bullpen, and they sing the glories of Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and company. Those officials are not necessarily wrong. Ortiz, acquired in the Corbin Burnes trade, might be batting only .217 with a .589 OPS, but is a gifted defender. Durbin, acquired in the Devin Williams trade, is batting .347 with an .899 OPS over the past six weeks. The bullpen, even with four relievers at 44 or more appearances — second only to the San Diego Padres, who have five — entered Wednesday ranked eighth in opponents' OPS. Advertisement Still, as The Athletic's Eno Sarris wrote, the Brewers' offense lacks the slug generally necessary to succeed in the postseason. Even with improvement in July, the Brewers entered Wednesday ranked 23rd in slugging percentage, 25th in hard-hit rate and 30th in barrel percentage. Which is where Suárez would enter the picture. The Brewers, sitting on a surplus of starting pitchers, possess the kind of controllable arms that might entice the Arizona Diamondbacks. Granted, the Brewers likely will need some of those pitchers to replace potential free agents José Quintana, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Brandon Woodruff. They also would require more than Suárez to part with a Logan Henderson or Chad Patrick. And, as if all that isn't enough, Attanasio might balk at adding Suárez's remaining $4.8 million. Attanasio surely is lamenting the Brewers' average home attendance is down almost 1,500 per game from last season, dropping from 31,323 to 29,882. But part of that might be due to an offseason in which the Brewers traded Williams, lost Willy Adames to free agency and then spent no more than $1 million on any free agent until signing Quintana to a one-year, $4.25 million deal in early March. Adding Suárez would electrify the fan base, amounting to a coup for a team that plays in the league's smallest TV market. As The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans reports, another small-market club, the Cincinnati Reds, are interested in Suárez. Yes, big-market teams like the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs might be more motivated. And yes, the Brewers are doing just fine as is. Attanasio, who did not respond to a request for comment, might think he already has gotten the last word. Fair enough. But wouldn't it be something if the owner matched the effort that the Brewers' players, on-field staff and front office are giving him? If the team that traded Burnes, Williams and Josh Hader finally said, 'Our turn?' Advertisement Left-hander Tanner Scott's stint on the injured list with elbow inflammation makes the Dodgers' need for bullpen help even more acute. But how are they going to get it? One way, according to sources briefed on the club's thinking, might be to trade right-hander Dustin May, a potential free agent who could lose his spot in the rotation once left-hander Blake Snell comes off the injured list. May, though, would have only so much value as a rental with a 4.73 ERA. The Dodgers' difficulties keeping pitchers healthy also might make them reluctant to move a starter who is second on the team in innings pitched. May could serve, as he did successfully on Monday, as a bulk pitcher behind Shohei Ohtani. Manager Dave Roberts called that pairing a 'one-off,' but the idea of May providing length out of the bullpen is hardly an outrageous idea. The Dodgers, if they prefer to keep May, can instead deal from their deep farm system, which The Athletic's Keith Law ranked before the season as the third best in the game. The team, as The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya reported, is reluctant to move catcher Dalton Rushing and shortstop Alex Freeland. Two of the club's other top prospects, High-A outfielders Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope, also possess considerable upside. The system, though, is stacked with other highly regarded position players. Among them: Shortstops Kellon Lindsey and Emil Morales, outfielders Eduardo Quintero, Ching-Hsien Ko and Mike Sirota, third baseman Chase Harlan. When right-hander Adrian Houser signed a one-year, $1.35 million contract with the Chicago White Sox on May 20, his goal wasn't to turn himself into a trade candidate. Houser, after exercising an opt-out in his minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, was happy just to be back in the majors. Advertisement 'A trade was a possibility. Obviously everything has to fall in line for that to become a possibility,' Houser said. 'My thought process was to be up here and compete, prove I can pitch up here and try to stay up here as long as possible.' Houser, 32, has succeeded in that effort, producing a 1.89 ERA in 62 innings. His expected ERA is 3.76, but his low salary and seven quality starts in nine outings should make him attractive to teams looking for a back-end starter. Prior to joining the White Sox, Houser had his last major-league start with the New York Mets on July 24, 2024. The Mets released him a week later. He signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs, who released him on Aug. 31, then finished the season in the Baltimore Orioles' organization. During the offseason, Houser made a significant mechanical change to his backside at Pitching WRX in Oklahoma City, getting more into his hamstring and glutes rather than his quads. 'I was probably three pitches into an offseason bullpen and they noticed it immediately,' he said. He also made greater use of the cold tub and adjusted his eating habits, adopting what he called the 'carnivorish' diet — mostly red meat, but on occasion chicken or fish as well. 'I was pretty much a carnivore all week, then Saturday and Sunday I would kind of cheat a little bit,' Houser said. 'We would do 'Pancake Saturdays' at our house. I'd have some pancakes on the weekend, maybe some coffee and soda. But once the week rolled around and I started working out, it was back to meat, eggs and cheese, and that was about it.' His 5.03 ERA with the Rangers at Triple A was hardly exceptional. His 17.7 percent strikeout rate with the White Sox might deter clubs obsessed with swing and miss. But his recent success is undeniable, and Houser is well aware he might be on the move. Advertisement 'You know how it is in the clubhouses. You see all this stuff on TV. MLB Network is everywhere. And the way social media is, you're going to see it,' Houser said. 'At the end of the day, I've got to take care of my business and worry about today and what's in front of me vs. thinking about what the future holds.' As The Athletic's Mitch Bannon wrote, a rash of injuries has made bullpen help perhaps the Toronto Blue Jays' biggest priority. But, like virtually every other team in the majors, the Jays also are in the market for a starting pitcher under club control beyond 2025, according to sources briefed on the team's plans. Both Chris Bassitt, 36, and Max Scherzer, 40, are potential free agents. The Jays could wait until the offseason to address the possibility of them leaving. Both enjoy playing for Toronto and would entertain coming back, a clubhouse source said. The Jays' lack of rotation depth, however, makes it almost imperative they add a starter before the deadline. Scherzer has been on the injured list five times since September 2023. Eric Lauer's impression of an ace might last only so long. Alek Manoah cannot be expected to be a stalwart if he returns from Tommy John surgery in late August, and few options exist at Triple A. The expected return of center fielder Daulton Varsho from a left hamstring strain next week should give the Jays' lineup a boost. The bullpen, minus Yimi Garcia and others, requires the most attention. But the Jays figure to address their rotation, too. One executive who spoke with the Atlanta Braves said he was told the team does not even intend to trade its potential free agents. The Braves conveyed they are under no pressure to reduce payroll, the exec said, and would like to win as many games as possible to build momentum going into 2026. A Braves source, however, said that was not a proper interpretation of the team's position. The team is willing to trade players on expiring contracts such as designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and closer Raisel Iglesias, the source said. But it has no interest in merely dumping salary. Its goal in any deal would be to receive some level of talent in return. Advertisement That would be easier said than done with Ozuna, who as a player with 10 years service, five consecutive with the same team, has the right to veto any deal. Ozuna has cratered since April 20, batting .219 with a .689 OPS. The Braves are now playing both their catchers, Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin, rather than using Ozuna at DH. Iglesias, 35, is a more interesting case. Prior to allowing four runs against the New York Yankees on Sunday, he had pitched 13 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. He then added another scoreless inning against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. The bullpen market is crowded, and Iglesias will be owed more than $5 million at the deadline. But the cost for him in talent will be less than it is for multi-year relievers, and the Braves presumably could include cash for a better return. After getting swept at home by the Houston Astros, the Arizona Diamondbacks are 5 1/2 games back in the NL wild-card race, with three teams ahead of them. As I wrote Monday, they need to trade at least some of their potential free agents. But some rival executives are still not convinced they will be aggressive sellers. General manager Mike Hazen long has resisted any form of teardown, and owner Ken Kendrick likely is no more enthusiastic about breaking up his team. Kendrick, 81, said at Corbin Burnes' introductory news conference in January, 'I'm kind of aging out on this. I'd kind of like to have some additional success before I go off into the sunset.' Hazen and Kendrick are realists, and almost certainly will do what they think is in the best interests of the franchise. But their individual perspectives make the Diamondbacks perhaps more likely to pursue a buy-sell strategy than a full-fledged sale. It will be difficult for them to concede. (Top photo of Brewers owner Mark Attanasio: John Fisher / Getty Images)
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miller Lite giving away 50,000 free beers. When and where to get one
Miller Lite is celebrating its 50th anniversary by offering 50,000 free beers at bars across the United States. The beer brand will offer free drinks at 450 bars nationwide during International Beer Day next month and will also host a special New Year's Eve-style "Beer Drop" at a Milwaukee brewery. Fans age 21 or older but unable to make it to any of the listed bars can still participate through an online alternative, the company said. "The 50th anniversary is just more than a milestone for Miller Lite, it's a celebration of our fans and the five decades we've spent together enjoying Miller Time," Ann Legan, Vice President of Marketing for Miler family of brands, said in a news release. USA TODAY has reached out to Miller Lite for clarification whether there is a one free can limit per person. The company kicked off its 50th year celebration by releasing limited-edition gold cans earlier this summer and unveiling a partnership with "Saturday Night Live" star Marcello Hernandez. Here's what to know about the free Miller Lite beers. When is Miller Lite giving away free beers? Miller Lite will be giving away 50,000 free beers on Friday, August 1, which also happens to be International Beer Day. Which bars are giving free Miller Lite beers? Free Miller Lite beers will be offered at 450 different bars in the U.S. To find the nearest participating location near you visit enter your state and navigate the list. The company will host its main event at the Miller Lite Brewery in Milwaukee, where cans will drop one-by-one from a massive six-pack installation at 4:50 p.m. local time. The event will also be livestreamed with the installation dropping at 4:50 p.m. across various time zones. "No matter where you are when the clock strikes 4:50PM, it's Miller Time," the brand said in a news release. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miller Lite giving away 50,000 free beers. How to get one
