Right-handed Cody Ponce And Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a three-year contract worth $30 million, sources told ESPN, which will double the largest contract ever for a domestic player returning from the Korea Baseball Organization.
Ponce, 31, was the KBO MVP this year, going 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts against 41 walks in 180⅔ innings for the Hanwa Eagles. A former second-rounder who threw 55⅓ innings for Pittsburgh in 2020-21, Ponce has upgraded his arsenal and joins a deep Blue Jays rotation that added a right-hander last week. Dylan Keys for $210 million over seven years.
The highest previous contract for a player returning from the KBO was a two-year contract worth $15 million. Chicago White Sox gave right-hander Eric Fedde until the 2024 season.
Ponce sets higher standards and exceeds all expectations. Ponce added power and turned his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame into a hitting machine, hitting 95 mph with his fastball, topping out at 98 and using a low-spin swing changeup to throw hitters away.
Toronto, which has been one of the most aggressive teams scouting Asia in recent years, expressed interest in Ponce early in his free agent tenure and did not relent as the contract price rose. Despite a rotation that already includes Seis and right-handers Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber And Jose BerriosToronto increased its projected luxury tax payroll to more than $270 million, exceeding the first competitive balance tax threshold.
Whether the Blue Jays consider a six-man rotation or simply want more starting pitching, their pursuit of Ponce strengthens the pennant-winning American League's pitching staff. The deal, which is awaiting a physical conclusion, is the latest in a series of moves made by AL East teams this winter, signing Keys and trading Boston for the right-hander. Sonny Gray and Baltimore is getting closer to signing a contract. Ryan Helsley and trade for left fielder Taylor Ward.
Toronto pushed Los Angeles Dodgers to the precipice in the World Series with pitches like Ponce's changeup, which has a motion profile similar to the split-finger fastballs of Gausman and Yesavage. Ponce took to the field in the winter when he worked with Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet And New York Mets right-handed Clay Holmes – with whom he played in Pittsburgh – and worked on a proper grip that best suited his unusually large hands.
Ponce spent the previous three seasons in Japan, posting a 4.54 ERA for Nippon Ham and Rakuten in 202 innings. He achieved his greatest success in Korea, which became the springboard for Fedde and Merrill Kelly return to MLB.
