Mark DeRosa reveals how he landed Aaron Judge for WBC — and how Andy Pettitte helped

Mark DeRosa knew if Team USA could get Aaron Judge in the fold for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, other American position players would come. 

But for DeRosa’s “Dream Team” to fall into place, Judge would first have to agree to play. 

The American manager tried and failed to lure the Yankees superstar outfielder for the 2023 international event, one in which the U.S. fell in a heartbreaking championship game to Japan. In the middle of his long free agency process that saw him end up back in The Bronx and get named captain, Judge decided not to participate. 

This time, though, the recruitment worked out. And Judge became Captain America to boot. 

Back as skipper for Team USA, DeRosa opened up on “The Show with Joel Sherman & Jon Heyman” on Tuesday about his team-building process last spring. He had received some intel from legendary Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte: Judge wanted in if the manager wanted him. 

So the longtime MLB utility player started his recruiting in earnest — one hour after getting the info from Pettitte.