Team USA Should Call on Former Yankees After Mark DeRosa

The manager in baseball could be one of the more overrated leadership positions in all of sports. Yet, when it comes to a stacked Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, their weakness is the skipper, Mark DeRosa. DeRosa, who, like Aaron Boone with the New York Yankees, is a former player with a TV background. The difference between Boone and DeRosa, though, is that even with on-the-job training at the highest level, Boone has enough wherewithal to learn when his team has moved on.

DeRosa saying on MLB Network that the United States has already made it to the knockout round, while also declaring he's going to use the game against Italy to rest some of his guys, could be one of the great bungles in Team USA history. Italy proved to be no joke. Armed with major leaguers the likes of Aaron Nola, Adam Ottavino, and Greg Weissert, they have been able to hold their own, and the DeRosa-led US team took them lightly.

While these aren't household names, they're still professionals. It’s why they're 3-0 in pool play.

If the United States is unceremoniously ousted due to circumstances that are out of its control, there's no reason to bring DeRosa back for the next WBC. Give him credit for being at the helm while there has been a reinvigoration of interest in it at the big league level, but allowing his team to party after Mexico's win, thinking they'd moved on, is gross incompetence.

“It’s weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.” -Team USA manager Mark DeRosa earlier today

Team USA’s ticket was not, in fact, punched to the quarterfinals, and now they’re in danger of missing out pic.twitter.com/xMPAdLODTY
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 11, 2026

A More Serious Manager

Whether the United States wins or not, there needs to be a better skipper at the helm. Jim Leyland was the manager when they last won. There should be an actual big league manager leading the team who pays attention to detail.

No, the WBC isn't the Olympics, but given the reaction DeRosa has garnered after that loss, this is the type of failure that will be remembered. That alone should be the biggest sign that things need to change.

Mar 3, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Team USA manager Mark DeRosa against the San Francisco Giants during a spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Team USA should go for experience next time around, which is why they should look to guys like Joe Girardi, Buck Showalter, or, if he's up to it, Joe Torre. If anybody can handle being relentlessly ripped apart in the media for every little decision, it's probably these guys.

Girardi might be the best name out there if Torre, who has the most championship pedigree out of anybody alive today outside of Tony La Russa, would rather spend his spring more peacefully. Just look at what Girardi did with some lean rosters.

Those 2013 and 2014 Yankees were best known for their legends' retirement tours and for stapling the roster together with guys like Vernon Wells and the returning Alfonso Soriano. Girardi led his teams to a winning record in both years. Sure, they missed the playoffs, but 85-77 and 84-78 records those seasons are impressive when you realize just how much those rosters were lacking.

That 2009 team was stacked, but Girardi should get a ton of credit for that, too. They were in a big hole in the division against Boston. Still, they stormed back to win the American League East with an obscene number of comeback wins.

Another name for Team USA could be Buck Showalter. Showalter always spoke with a calm cadence, whether he was talking to the media or when a team was in crisis mode. Even when those 2022 Mets collapsed in the Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres, Buck never showed a hint of frustration. It never felt like the moment was too big for Buck, even then, which isn't the case for DeRosa now.

It's true that Showalter has never won a World Series, but few have the wealth of knowledge in this sport that he has. Plus, he might be motivated enough to win with Team USA for that reason. It's no championship at the big league level, but a WBC win comes with prestige. The laughing stock the US team will be if they are ousted shows that this matters even to the most jaded of Americans.

Buck is well-equipped to handle that pressure, and as an elder statesman, he will command respect. Sometimes, that's all you need the manager to do when a roster is as deep as this United States team.

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