On Saturday, the United States will face Canada in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Meanwhile, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa is making adjustments to the lineup.
First, he is starting Pete Crow-Armstrong over Byron Buxton in centerfield. Second, he is starting Alex Bregman and Brice Turang at infielder instead of Gunnar Henderson.
A decision that evoked the ire of Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. Meyer cites Henderson's performance in the first two pool play games.
Altogether, Henderson went 4-for-5 in their 15-5 win over Brazil. Then, he hit a home run in their second game against Great Britain, in which the Americans won 9-1.
Facing elimination, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa is starting Alex Bregman and Brice Turang over Gunnar Henderson.
Henderson started two of the four pool play games. He went 4-for-5 in the first and homered in the second.
Yet, for some reason, he’s back on the bench. https://t.co/bM8h94Eshg
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 13, 2026
The Americans are coming off a heartbreaking 8-6 loss to Italy, which temporarily hurt their chances of moving on. Nevertheless, Italy defeated Mexico 9-1, enabling the Americans to secure a space in the quarterfinals.
Also, Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs to help propel an American comeback against Italy in the later innings.
Meanwhile, Bregman is hitting .143 with three RBIs. Turang is batting .417 with five hits, four doubles, and four RBIs.
Lately, DeRosa has been feeling the heat for some of his decision-making and comments. The most notorious was allegedly saying the Americans were in the quarterfinals before playing against Italy.
However, DeRosa emphatically denied making those comments.
In 2023, DeRosa was the manager of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, in which they won the silver medal after losing to Japan.
The Americans are looking to win their first World Baseball Classic since 2017, when they defeated Puerto Rico.
