While the New York Yankees are busy with the 2025 season, superstar outfielder Aaron Judge was recently named captain for Team USA for the World Baseball Classic taking place in March 2026. It's a big moment for the 32-year-old slugger and the Team USA manager, Mark DeRosa is over the moon about it.

In a press conference for the WBC, DeRosa sent an ecstatic message about Judge being named captain of the team. He admitted he wanted the Yankees star to be the captain of the team and claimed that Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout agreed to step down as captain and give it to Judge.

“I couldn't be more fired up for Aaron Judge.”

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Although there were some concerns about Aaron Judge playing in the WBC next year, the two-time MVP winner shut those downs with confidence. He hopes to have a long season with the Yankees this year, hinting at the possibility of a World Series win. Judge then backed that up claiming he wants to have a short offseason as well, which sounds like he'll be more than ready for the WBC.

Having Judge as the captain seems rather fitting. He's arguably the best hitter in baseball after leading the league in home runs in two of his previous three seasons. In 2025, Aaron Judge is on pace to do it once again. Entering Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals, the star slugger owns a .357 batting average and .478 OBP while hitting six home runs and 20 RBIs through 56 at-bats.

With the announcement of Aaron Judge serving as captain for Team USA, this marks the first time in his career that he'll play in the World Baseball Classic. As of Monday, he is the only player on the Team USA roster but more players will fill out the roster in the coming months.

The last WBC came down between Team USA and Japan. With Shohei Ohtani leading the way, Japan edged the US 3-2 in a classic showdown. Ohtani walked away from the contest named the MVP of the tournament. That's something that Aaron Judge should be able to challenge Ohtani for in the 2026 WBC.