{"id":520400,"date":"2026-03-07T12:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T12:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/520400\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T12:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T12:43:08","slug":"mark-derosas-second-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/520400\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Derosa’s Second Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

The baseball offseason is typically a time to relax and reset, but Mark DeRosa has unfinished business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s late January and the Team USA manager has been spending the month tinkering with his World Baseball Classic<\/a> lineup. Obsessing over it. The moment Japan knocked out his squad, 3\u20132, in the 2023 championship game, he\u2019s been scheming ways to rectify that gut-wrenching result.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all I think about,\u201d he tells Front Office Sports from his home in Atlanta. \u201cIt really is all I think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

This morning began with a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich, chased by a protein smoothie. The rest of the week has unfolded in a familiar rhythm: rounds of golf, endless phone calls, and long looks at a roster that he started building last May. He\u2019s spent hours checking in with big-league managers, making sure they\u2019re all looped in. \u201cI just wanted everyone to feel comfortable,\u201d he says. \u201c\u2018Hey, you guys good? Is there anything special that I need to know about your player? This is how we are going to use them. Are you O.K. with that?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The anxiety is attached to genuine excitement. After the electricity of the last WBC, more American stars took notice. They wanted in. Now, in his second go-around as manager, DeRosa has assembled the most talent-rich U.S. roster\u2014one that includes Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, MVP Aaron Judge and runner-up Cal Raleigh, among a wave of other All-Stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a fear of missing out,\u201d DeRosa says. \u201cThere were a lot of guys who said \u2018No\u2019 to come in last time that I think realized, \u2018Oh my God, what an opportunity.\u2019 They\u2019re not passing it up.\u201d He pauses, then adds the other, simpler truth: \u201cGuys want to be in a dugout with Judge. Guys want to be around Paul Skenes and see what he\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guys also want to be around DeRosa, both on the field and off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since retiring from a 16-year big-league career in 2013, the New Jersey native has become one of the most entertaining and insightful personalities in baseball outside of his managerial duties. For the past decade, he\u2019s cohosted MLB Central, MLB Network\u2019s in-season, Sports Emmy\u2013nominated morning show, waking up baseball fans with infectious enthusiasm and fine-tuned analysis that goes beyond recapping highlights. He breaks down swings, spearheads colorful segments, and scrutinizes marquee matchups with a superfan\u2019s laser focus\u2014instincts he gleaned as a utility man with several clubs, including the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, and Giants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t find someone more dedicated to the current game,\u201d MLB Central cohost Lauren Shehadi tells FOS. \u201cHe wants to do right by the player.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeRosa\u2019s edge is the same one it\u2019s always been: versatility. He thrived as a utility player during his own MLB career and has taken a similar approach to his next chapter, moving seamlessly among analyst, evangelist, and manager. People in his orbit agree: down to his Jersey accent, \u201cDeRo\u201d is as real as they come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Analyst<\/p>\n

DeRosa made his MLB Network debut as a member of the Giants during the 2011 postseason. He still had family a couple of towns over from the Secaucus, N.J.\u2013based studio, but he hadn\u2019t courted the idea of returning to the Northeast to start a media career. Two years later, as retirement crept closer, analyst Harold Reynolds kept nudging him toward television.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeRosa thought back to how much fun he\u2019d had popping in as a guest (including a memorable appearance on Intentional Talk alongside Munenori Kawasaki), and he came to a simple conclusion: \u201cI just thought it would be a nice transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2014 season, he signed a contract to provide analysis on MLB Tonight and inject more of his personality into the network. A year later, he was tapped to cohost its morning show with Matt Vasgersian (later replaced by Robert Flores) and Shehadi. The upgrade was significant\u2014a 140-day commitment that meant living in New Jersey five days a week. He called his wife, who agreed \u201cit made a ton of sense,\u201d despite the travel. \u201cMy passion for the game was the draw for me, and the network\u2019s location was so perfect. I jumped at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

MLB Network<\/p>\n

The transition was mostly seamless. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to be locked in and totally comfortable on the couch from Day 1,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I thought: Put the work in. Do it the right way. Stack great days on top of each other. Trust the research department. Trust your producers. Trust Matty and Lauren to make you better and be willing to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, with a decade on the job, DeRosa has developed a strict routine during the season. The night before each show, he\u2019ll take out his pad and pen and watch several of the East Coast games, running multiple screens. He\u2019ll scribble anything interesting\u2014a bullpen move or a call that changed the game. Then, as the West Coast games get started around 10 p.m., he\u2019ll jump on the line with a few producers to discuss the night\u2019s most pressing nuggets and build out the next morning\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a free flow of ideas for different things we could do,\u201d says coordinating producer Rich Savino, which \u201cmight mean mocking up a segment on A.J. Hinch\u2019s exotic cat sanctuary<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the call, DeRosa emails his \u201cride-or-dies,\u201d editorial producer Eric Nehs and video editor Jacob Bader, to pull out any germane metrics and cutaways for each segment. The next morning, DeRosa joins a Zoom call on his drive to the studio, followed by a tape session with Bader in the editing room, where loose ideas crystallize into show-ready segments. \u201cHe thinks like a TV producer,\u201d Flores says. \u201cHe\u2019s got a good mind and eye for what\u2019s going to work on television.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once he has his coffee, DeRosa turns into a warmup act for the show\u2019s 10 a.m. start. Shehadi says he\u2019ll often walk in and announce something dramatic: World Series, Game 7. Let\u2019s go! \u201cAnd meanwhile, it\u2019s April 20th.\u201d Savino agrees: It just fires everyone up. \u201cHe kind of brings that vibe to the building. You just want to be around him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeRosa\u2019s \u201cbread and butter,\u201d according to coordinating producer Mark Capalbo, are his 10-minute segments in the Skybox, the studio\u2019s big-screen demonstration stage, where he dissects hitting and pitching mechanics. There, DeRosa monologues about Kyle Schwarber\u2019s hand placement or William Contreras\u2019s hard-hit rates\u2014a mix of analytics and his own observations, plus commands to the booth to \u201croll that back!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

DeRosa attributes his performative, ad-libbing skills to the local musicals his mother enrolled him in throughout elementary school. Despite the nerves, he always committed to the audience\u2014a trait he hasn\u2019t given up. \u201cI want the players to know that I\u2019m watching,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m very sensitive to that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Manager<\/p>\n

The qualities that turned DeRosa into a compelling TV analyst are the same ones that have made him a natural fit as a manager.<\/p>\n

At the end of 2015, as his reputation around the game quietly grew from his broadcasts, DeRosa kicked the tires on the Marlins\u2019 open managerial position. He\u2019d had a successful first season on MLB Central, but he \u201cwanted to see if it scratched an itch\u2014if it led to something else,\u201d DeRosa says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"USA<\/p>\n

Patrick Breen\/The Republic\/Imagn Images<\/p>\n

His early conversations were encouraging. \u201cYou look at the skill sets of successful managers\u2014they\u2019re normally not the superstar players; they\u2019re the guys who have to work hard, who have to prepare better than everyone else,\u201d says Mike Hill, who interviewed DeRosa while serving as the Marlins\u2019 president of baseball operations. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how he was as a player.\u201d Ultimately, though, Hill chose DeRosa\u2019s boyhood idol Don Mattingly to lead the team, adding that if he\u2019d had a younger roster, DeRosa \u201cvery well could have been manager at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years later, DeRosa interviewed for the Mets job, but left empty-handed again. After the dust settled, New York GM Sandy Alderson offered advice that stuck. \u201cHe basically said, \u2018At no point in our six-hour interview process did you ever truly look me in the eye and say, \u2018I\u2019m not leaving until I\u2019m the manager of the Mets,\u2019\u201d DeRosa recalls. \u201cHe said, \u2018We want guys who are willing to bleed for this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time DeRosa visited the MLB league office with the hopes of leading the WBC Team USA in 2023, he\u2019d acquired the right mindset. This time around, his even bigger public profile and familiarity with the league made him a prime candidate\u2014and the passion he\u2019d cultivated on-screen finally emerged. \u201cI felt like this was the perfect opportunity to truly stick my nose into one of these spots,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I went in there, that\u2019s what I was like. \u2018You can\u2019t tell me I\u2019m not the perfect guy for this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He got the gig.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019d never managed a game, DeRosa entered the Team USA clubhouse with credibility. On the diamond, he\u2019d been conditioned by the game\u2019s pecking order, trained to choose his words carefully around star teammates. But television rewired that instinct. Being effective on air meant assessing the biggest names with both honesty and sensitivity, a balance that, in turn, became the foundation of his coaching philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe players know that he respects what they\u2019re doing,\u201d cohost Flores says. \u201cHe\u2019s been where they\u2019re at. I think that carries a lot of weight and goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the 2023 tournament ended in disappointment\u2014Shohei Ohtani striking out then\u2013MLB teammate Mike Trout in the ninth inning\u2014DeRosa learned a lot about building a roster, writing out a lineup, and motivating a group of elite athletes. \u201cIf I started just making bullpen moves left and right, we would have run out of arms,\u201d DeRosa says. \u201cThere are certain things that you\u2019ve got to be leery of.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He learned to earn his players\u2019 trust and create a comfortable environment. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to make everyone happy,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the guys know if your heart\u2019s in it.\u201d That\u2019s the primary reason that Hill, now Team USA\u2019s GM, brought DeRosa back for 2026. \u201cIt was very obvious that he had unfinished business,\u201d Hill says. \u201cAnd he was going to take all of those learned experiences to build the strongest roster we possibly could to help us win it all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ambassador<\/p>\n

In between his managerial duties and studio analysis, DeRosa has become something of an MLB ambassador, filling in wherever the sport needs him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a potential lockout looming in 2027, DeRosa views this WBC tournament as something larger than a two-and-a-half-week burst of international baseball. A deep run by Team USA, he believes, could amplify the sport\u2019s momentum, pull in new attention, and apply real pressure to avoid a work stoppage. \u201cThe game is just in such a great place,\u201d he says. \u201cI just don\u2019t understand why we can\u2019t figure out a way for everybody to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

MLB Network<\/p>\n

He got a preview of how quickly emotions can flare last summer, while touring clubhouses alongside commissioner Rob Manfred in an effort to smooth labor relations. Inside the Phillies clubhouse, tensions spiked between Manfred and Bryce Harper<\/a>, then escalated when DeRosa made a sarcastic crack about Manfred\u2019s retaliatory instincts, which some players thought was a real threat. About two hours later, DeRosa extinguished the issue with Harper.<\/p>\n

Their quick reconciliation suggested DeRosa\u2019s ability to stay honest and accountable to the players. Harper, notably, will man first base for Team USA. \u201cHe knows where my heart is with him,\u201d DeRosa says. \u201cHe knows the sweat equity and time I\u2019ve put in with him and how I feel about him as a person. You\u2019re not always going to agree on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, DeRosa wants to use his time as manager to create energy, build camaraderie, and provide the best opportunity for his players to succeed. \u201cI\u2019m very candid about what the expectations are, how certain things can unfold in this two-and-a-half-week process,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019ll never be about me. It\u2019s always about the players. \u2026 That\u2019s the way I attack work. I want the people around me to get the credit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He takes the same approach at MLB Central. The show only works when he knows he\u2019s involving everyone. \u201cHe always says, \u2018We get people to believe in themselves,\u2019\u201d Capalbo says. \u201cAnd they add value when that happens.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, the looming labor quagmire has made it hard for DeRosa to look too far ahead. \u201cEvery time I\u2019ve ever tried to have like a three- to five-year plan,\u201d he says, \u201csomething always better happens.\u201d Instead, his focus is much narrower: Bring home a World Baseball Classic trophy. Help push a new CBA across the finish line. Honor the next two years of his MLB Network contract. \u201cI think if I\u2019ve accomplished those three things,\u201d DeRosa says, \u201cI\u2019d be pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

So would his teammates. Both Flores and Shehadi have gotten a kick out of their colleague sharing behind-the-scenes insights into the lineup and being a subject of their on-air discussions this month. They\u2019re also extremely nervous to watch the games unfold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flores says: \u201cEveryone at MLB Central will be living and dying with every pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The baseball offseason is typically a time to relax and reset, but Mark DeRosa has unfinished business.\u00a0 It\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-520400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}