{"id":629473,"date":"2026-03-18T05:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/629473\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T05:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:06:18","slug":"mark-derosa-throws-shade-at-san-diego-after-not-using-mason-miller-in-wbc-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/629473\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark DeRosa throws shade at San Diego after not using Mason Miller in WBC Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Diego Padres<\/a> became an unexpected part of the postgame narrative following Team USA<\/a>\u2019s bullpen decision in the World Baseball Classic<\/a> final. Questions surrounding the choice not to use Mason Miller<\/a> quickly gained traction after manager Mark DeRosa addressed the situation. His comments added intrigue and fueled debate about the influence of MLB clubs on international competition.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Team USA fell 3\u20132 to Venezuela<\/a> in the championship game at loanDepot Park. The turning point came in the ninth inning when Eugenio Suarez delivered the go-ahead RBI. However, Miller\u2019s absence in a critical moment emerged as the defining storyline.<\/p>\n

Miller, a superstar closer for the Padres, had been Team USA\u2019s most dominant reliever throughout the tournament. He did not allow a hit and consistently overwhelmed opposing hitters. Despite that, he was not used in a tie game late, raising immediate questions about the decision.<\/p>\n

The situation drew further attention after USA Today’s Bob Nightengale shared DeRosa\u2019s explanation<\/a> on X, formerly Twitter, with the following message.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonoring the Padres. Had we taken the lead, he was coming in, but I wasn\u2019t going to bring him in to a tie game.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeRosa\u2019s remarks directly connected the Padres to the decision. By stating he was honoring the organization, he indicated Miller was reserved for a save situation rather than a tie.<\/p>\n

The strategy reflects tension between MLB teams and international competition. Clubs often prioritize long-term health, which can influence how national teams deploy pitchers.<\/p>\n

Many around the game questioned whether sticking to prearranged usage plans outweighed the urgency of the moment in a championship setting.<\/p>\n

Still, the outcome leaves room for debate. With the game tied in the ninth, many expected Miller to pitch<\/a>. Instead, his absence created a defining what-if moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Diego Padres became an unexpected part of the postgame narrative following Team USA\u2019s bullpen decision in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2407],"tags":[5,1101,4,43,137,18,4339,4338,4819,4820],"class_list":{"0":"post-629473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego-padres","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mason-miller","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-padres","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-padres","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-sandiegopadres","16":"tag-team-usa","17":"tag-world-baseball-classic"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116248443951134247","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}