Former SF Giants utility infielder returning as manager of Team USA for 2026 WBC

Team USA will have a familiar face in the dugout during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Former SF Giants utility infielder Mark DeRosa is returning as the team's skipper, per USA Baseball.

Former SF Giants utility infielder returning as manager of Team USA for 2026 WBC

DeRosa will have a lot of managerial experience on his coaching staff. Fredi González (assistant manager), David Ross (bullpen coach), and Skip Schumaker (bench coach) all have managerial experience.

Schumaker is the most recent coach on DeRosa's staff to manage a major league club. He led the Miami Marlins for two seasons beginning in 2023. This included a surprise playoff appearance for an organization that has only reached the playoffs twice (2020 and 2023) since winning their second World Series in 2003.

The Marlins and Schumaker mutually agreed to part ways at the end of a down year in 2024. Many believed he managed well enough to earn another gig right away, but that did not come to fruition during the winter. For now, he is serving as a senior advisor to Chris Young in the Texas Rangers front office.

In addition to plenty of managerial experience, Brian McCann (assistant manager), Andy Pettite (pitching coach), Michael Young (assistant manager), and Matt Holliday (hitting coach) all have considerable playing experience on Mark DeRosa's staff.

During his first stint as Team USA's manager, DeRosa led the club to the finals, but lost to Team Japan.

Prior to this, DeRosa had a long major league career, including a two-year stint with the Giants starting in 2010. In his first season with San Francisco, he suffered a wrist injury after just 26 games that kept him on the shelf for the remainder of the year.

The veteran utility player continued dealing with the wrist ailment in 2011 as well. He posted a .293 OPS with one home run and 22 RBI in 201 plate appearances during his Giants tenure. For some reason, I vividly remember his home run. It came in his first game in a Giants uniform, and it was an opposite-field line drive that cleared the low-hanging fence in right field at Daikin Park in Houston.

DeRosa's career came to an end after the 2013 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Since then, he has worked as an analyst for the MLB Network, and continues to be heavily involved in baseball. It would not be surprising to see him land a managerial gig down the road.