Buster Olney: Mark DeRosa ‘going to have to answer questions’ about media gaffes if he wants MLB manager job

Mark DeRosa is a fascinating figure to be managing Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.

The skipper, who has made headlines for numerous gaffes in his media dealings during the tournament, apparently has aspirations to one day run a big-league clubhouse. But so far, since retiring from a long career as a utility player, DeRosa has largely worked in media.

In 2023, DeRosa got his first managerial experience with Team USA. He was brought back for this cycle and has earned plaudits for recruiting top MLB players.

But in an appearance on The Tony Kornheiser Show heading into the WBC quarterfinals, ESPN’s Buster Olney suggested DeRosa has dug himself a pretty big hole with his potential employers with the way he has handled controversy this spring with the American team.

“He’s a TV guy now, but of course, he played for years, he was known for being a great clubhouse guy, and he managed this team back in the last round as well. And there’s always been a thought that at some point, Mark had aspirations to become a Major League manager,” Olney said. “And it’s going to be interesting going forward, because this has not been a glorious event for him.”

Among the controversies were DeRosa’s suggestion that Team USA’s roster included the best 30 baseball players in the world; his inability to tamp down criticism of Tarik Skubal after he returned to the Detroit camp; and the many odd comments about Team USA’s qualification for the quarterfinals.

“There are so many things that he’s said and done during this WBC that if he ever did interview for a Major League managerial job, he would be asked about them by teams,” Olney said. “And I know this, because I’m getting text messages along the lines of, ‘What is he doing?'”

Pregame before Team USA’s matchup with Italy earlier this week, DeRosa suggested the team was a little slow due to the previous night’s celebrations. Later, he seemed to indicate that he believed the team had already qualified for the quarterfinals.

When the media called him out, DeRosa said he “misspoke” and then completely backtracked on his comments.

Both Olney and Kornheiser agreed DeRosa needed to “own it” rather than coughing up “word salad.”

“This is getting great commentary within the industry,” Olney said.

Olney is unsure if MLB and Team USA officials are looking at this tournament as a championship-or-bust for DeRosa, and the ESPN insider had plenty of praise for DeRosa as well.

“Mark did a phenomenal job of pulling this group of players together. He clearly gets excited about this,” Olney explained. “He’s fired up, and I think part of the reason why there’s excitement around this USA team is because of all the work that he did last year. But, like I said, if he gets managerial opportunities in the future, whether that’s WBC or a Major League team, he’s going to have to answer questions about this.”