Mark DeRosa Claiming He Is Open to Return as Team USA Manager for Next WBC Has Fans Losing It: “Bro Is Not Getting Invited Back”

Mark DeRosa expressed that he would love to cross the finish line and return as Team USA manager for the next WBC after losing back-to-back finals.

Mark DeRosa Claiming He Is Open to Return as Team USA Manager for Next WBC Has Fans Losing It: “Bro Is Not Getting Invited Back”

Mark DeRosa (Image via TSN)

It was deja vu for Mark DeRosa and Team USA as they suffered a 3-2 loss in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final against Venezuela. After the loss, the former MLB star expressed that he was open to returning as the team manager in the next edition.

DeRosa was the team manager in the 2023 edition. In the return of the WBC, Team USA reached the final again and were aiming for back-to-back titles, having won the 2017 edition against Puerto Rico.

The United States would end up losing 3-2 in the final against Japan. Despite this loss, he would remain as the manager of the team and was given the role to lead the team again in the 2026 edition.

His team started off well and won their opening 3 games to find themselves in a strong position. After a major slip-up in an interview regarding the qualification scenario, the USA lost 8-6 against Italy.

Italy’s win over Mexico would see the USA finish second in Pool B. They would then take down Canada 5-3 before edging Dominican Republic 2-1 in the semi-finals.

On Tuesday, they got outplayed by Venezuela. DeRosa’s side only had 3 hits in this game, with 2 of them coming from Bryce Harper‘s bat. Despite a massive game-tying 2-run home run in the 8th inning from the Philadelphia Phillies star, they were unable to avoid defeat.

A go-ahead double from Eugenio Suarez in the 9th inning put Venezuela in command once again. They would then see out Kyle Schwarber, Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony to claim their first WBC Championship.

After this loss, DeRosa was asked whether he would be open to a third stint with the team in the next edition. The 51-year-old nodded yes and expressed he would love to cross the finishing line with Team USA.

It would be 100 percent yes to do it again. Love to get over the finish line. … Why? If you saw how hurting the guys are in the locker room now, you’d know why.

Mark DeRosa said as per Evan Drellich

Social media reacts to Mark DeRosa claiming to be open to manage Team USA again

Mark DeRosa’s lead Team USA had to settle for a runner-up finish once again. On Tuesday, they suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Venezuela and missed out the gold in front of their fans once again.

Mark DeRosa
Mark DeRosa (Image via X/@TalkinBaseball_)

Despite this loss, DeRosa is open to another shot with the team. Fans on social media, though, do not share the same enthusiasm.

Users on X criticized him for his team choices. Many called him out for losing back-to-back finals with such a star-studded team. One user wrote, “Bro is not getting invited back,” while taking a swipe at the former Atlanta Braves star.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Speaking of the WBC, Venezuela became the 4th different country to win this tournament after Japan, the Dominican Republic and the USA. Kansas City Royals star Maikel Garcia was named the MVP of the competition.

Mark DeRosa claims he was honoring Padres by not bringing in Mason Miller in the 9th inning

Mark DeRosa is facing some heat from fans online for his decision-making. One of the big decisions he made was not to use Mason Miller in the 9th inning. When asked about this, he claimed that he was honoring the San Diego Padres, the club Miller plays for.

Mark DeRosa and Mason Miller
Mark DeRosa and Mason Miller (Image via MLB)

After they tied the game in the bottom of the 8th inning, the momentum was on the side of the Americans. In the top of the 9th inning, DeRosa would opt for Garrett Whitlock instead of Miller.

This decision backfired as Whitlock gave up the go-ahead double to Eugenio Suarez. The Boston Red Sox star would unfortunately, become the losing pitcher in this big game.

In the post-game interview, a reporter would ask why Miller was not used. DeRosa claimed that he would have used him if USA were leading the game.

Honoring the Padres. Had we taken the lead, he was coming in, but I wasn’t going to bring him in to a tie game.

Mark DeRosa said as per Bob Nightengale

As per him, there were some restrictions placed by the Padres on the usage of Miller. The USA manager could only use him during a save situation.

Could things have been different had Miller been used? That is now a major what-if question that Team USA and DeRosa would be hoping to move on from quickly.

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