Legendary Yankees Catcher Joins Team Italy Coaching Staff

Posada, in a video shared on social media by MLB Network, laughed and admitted he doesn't know much Italian and hopes that speaking Spanish helps him communicate with players. Cervelli promised to translate for his former teammate, whom he played with on the Yankees from 2008 to 2011.

"When I started building the team, the first person was him. I called him in March of last year and I propose him the idea and he said 'I'll call you and let me think about it.' Five minutes he called me and said 'I'm in,'" Cervelli said of his process to choose Pasado as a coach. "So, it was easy."

The Team Italy roster has previously featured MLBers like Kansas City Royals infielder Vinnie Pasquantino, who Cervelli said will be returning. As far as other players, the manager said he is still waiting to get permission to reveal other names on the roster.

The Italian WBC team is in Pool B and will face off against the United States, Mexico, Great Britian and Brazil for the opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals. They have appeared in five iterations of the competition, but have never advanced passed the quarterfinals.

Jorge Posada's Career with the Yankees

Posada, who was born in Pureto Rico, played his entire career in Pinstripes, debuting in 1995 after being selected by the team in the 24th round of the 1990 MLB Draft as an infielder. Throughout his career with the Yankees, he won four World Series Championships, was a five-time All Star and five-time Silver Slugger.

Posada officially retired in early 2012. He ended his career with a .273 batting average, .374 on-base percentage and .474 slugging percentage, for an OPS of .713. In his long career, he appeared in 1,829 regular season games and slammed 275 home runs. The Yankees honored his legacy a few years later by retiring his jersey number (20) in August of 2015.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic kicks off in early March, with pool play beginning in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Houston, Tokyo, Japan and Miami. Two Yankees players, outfielder Aaron Judge and relief pitcher David Bednar, will be suiting up for Team USA.

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