Team USA narrowly escaped elimination in the World Baseball Classic 2026, but not thanks to their own performance. Mexico’s 9-1 loss to Italy helped the USA reach the quarterfinals, and now all the blame for them needing outside help is being put on manager Mark DeRosa.

His decision to bench his superstars, Alex Bregman and Bryce Harper, in a high-stakes game against the Italians, which they lost 8-6, started the controversy. After Team USA’s disastrous loss to Italy in the WBC, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal has an ultimatum for DeRosa on future lineups.

“As for future lineups, here’s guessing DeRosa won’t start Paul Goldschmidt over Harper at first base, and maybe not Gunnar Henderson over Bregman at third, either,” wrote Rosenthal.

Against Italy, DeRosa opted for Paul Goldschmidt and Gunnar Henderson in place of Harper and Bregman, respectively. Goldschmidt went 1 for 3 and scored a run. And Henderson hit a home run but was struck out three times. Harper made his appearance as a pinch hitter for Goldschmidt in the eighth inning.

DeRosa also placed Ernie Clement instead of Brice Turang in the match. Clement went zero for two, and then Turang came in as a pinch hitter, going 1 for 2, with a double. DeRosa might have chosen the match against Team Italy to get Goldschmidt and Clement into a rhythm for the future knockout matches. However, it did not yield the results he wanted.

Furthermore, after defeating Mexico, the Americans reportedly stayed in the clubhouse and relaxed till late at night before their match against Italy. Team USA’s power-packed lineup fell flat against starter Michael Lorenzen, who shut down the Americans for nearly five innings.

DeRosa might have opted for Henderson based on his four hits and two RBIs against Team GBR. But for future high-stakes matches in the WBC, the veteran 3B Bregman is the better, more experienced choice.

As Rosenthal pointed out, “The choice of Henderson against Italy was defensible — he had four hits, all between 106 and 111 mph, in his previous start, and hit a home run while striking out three times. But Bregman, who has 447 career plate appearances in the postseason, is far more experienced in high-pressure environments.”

DeRosa has one of the best rosters at his disposal that includes the likes of Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh, and Paul Skenes. Now it’s his turn to use it to its full potential.

Following Team Italy’s upset over Team USA, speculation on DeRosa’s interview blunder about Team USA qualifying sparked anew.

DeRosa’s misspoken Hot Stove interview

In an interview at MLB Network’s Hot Stove, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa called the must-win game against Team Italy one with lower stakes. Responding to a question about Team USA’s qualification to the quarterfinals, DeRosa said, “It’s weird, we want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals. The way the schedule lines up, this is an important game for us.”

Later, the USA manager admitted that he “misspoke” and “miscalculated” when he made the comments. However, his decision to bench some of his star players, just as he said in the interview, suggested that he truly believed his words.

Former Yankees catcher Erik Kratz on Foul Territory said that he does not believe DeRosa misspoke. He suggested that DeRosa’s body language suggested that he didn’t know the qualification rules.

“To me, everything lines up. If it smells like it, then it must be true because everything lines up. When I watch his body language… I think they truly thought they were in,” remarked Kratz.

Only DeRosa knows whether he really believed Team USA qualified or not, but for now, he must focus on the next match against Canada. As with the kind of talent he has in his squad, he must try to stop experimenting and stick to a winning combination.