DeRosa wants midseason WBC: Would be 'way less restrictions'

The World Baseball Classic has come a long way in the 20 years since the inaugural tournament. Yet the question of when the best time is to stage it remains up for debate.

United States manager Mark DeRosa believes that moving the WBC from spring training to the summer would solve the problem, and get even more of the best talent to participate with fewer restrictions.

"I do think the big leaguers want to play in the Olympics and represent their country," DeRosa said before Tuesday's final against Venezuela, per ASAP Sports. "And yes, they would be more prepared and more dialed in, and we'd be dealing with way less restrictions and way less guidelines on the pitching if it was moved to midseason. No question about it."

All six editions of the WBC have been held during spring training. As a result, the tournament features unique pitch-count limits designed to protect pitchers who are ramping up for the regular season. Pitchers are required to rest for one day if they throw 30 pitches in a WBC game, and four days if they cross the 50-pitch mark.

DeRosa and the other 19 national team managers also have to juggle the needs of player's MLB teams. Several star players had to miss the tournament after being denied insurance due to injuries suffered in 2025, and players that are in the tournament may be prescribed rest days or specific pitch counts.

USA closer Mason Miller was questionable for the final, though DeRosa confirmed the flamethrower's availability pregame after conferring with the San Diego Padres. Venezuela manager Omar Lopez revealed that multiple clubs asked him not to use pitchers who worked in Monday's semifinal win over Italy in Tuesday's final, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

If this were July, DeRosa feels none of this would be an issue.

"The beauty of this thing is you try to honor the parent clubs and get these guys back to their parent clubs healthy, but for some reason, when you get in a room and you put USA across your chest and fill a stadium, you lose sight of that sometimes," DeRosa said. "So I think it's just passion for growing the game, the WBC, but certainly if it was moved to the middle of the season, I don't think you would have any 'no's' for competing in it."

A midseason WBC would also force MLB (and other pro leagues) to fit the tournament in by halting their regular seasons. MLB has already expressed an openness to doing that for the LA Olympics in 2028, although that would only be for a week. Running a full 20-team tournament in July would take longer, and potentially eat two weeks of the season.

Still, DeRosa is clearly hoping for these changes to take the WBC to the next level. The 51-year-old believes the tournament is officially a must-see event, especially in the United States, which has often been criticized for not fully buying in and focusing more on the MLB season.

"I was a part of it in 2009 as a player and didn't really understand what we were getting into, right? And then I was able to manage in 2023," DeRosa said. "And to see the passion, the game against Mexico, the game against Venezuela (in 2023), the (2023 final) against Japan. I credit the Latin American countries, I credit Japan, I credit the other countries for kind of forcing the United States' hand to kind of get in on this.

"There's something very powerful about playing for your country."