Cody Ponce is heading back to the big leagues-and he’s doing it in record-breaking fashion.
The 31-year-old right-hander, who once went to the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of the 2013 draft and was later dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Jordan Lyles trade, has spent the last few years reinventing himself overseas. After a solid run in Japan, Ponce exploded onto the scene in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2025, delivering one of the most dominant pitching seasons the league has ever seen.
Let’s start with the numbers: 252 strikeouts in 180.2 innings, a 1.89 ERA, and 17 wins. That’s not just a strong season-that’s a Triple Crown campaign and a strikeout record all in one.
And now, after that historic run, Ponce is cashing in. He’s reportedly agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, the largest contract ever given to a pitcher returning to Major League Baseball from Korea.
To put that in perspective, Ponce just surpassed the previous high-water mark set by Erick Fedde, another former MLB arm who dominated in the KBO before returning stateside. Fedde earned $15 million guaranteed after his own Triple Crown season. Ponce doubled that figure.
What’s behind the surge in value? It starts with the stuff.
In 2025, Ponce added a couple ticks to his fastball, pushing it to an average of 95 mph. That extra velocity, combined with a nasty split-finger changeup that’s become his calling card, gave him a strikeout rate that outpaced any pitcher who’s made the jump from the KBO to the majors.
Scouts took notice. So did front offices.
There was some buzz early in the offseason about a potential reunion with Milwaukee. Some projections had him landing a two-year, $22 million deal-still a record-breaker at the time.
But as the market developed and Ponce’s value became clearer, it became obvious he was going to command more. According to league insiders, the expectation was that he’d get at least $30 million, possibly even $40 million.
The Blue Jays didn’t wait around to find out. They locked him up at $30 million over three years.
It’s a bold move, but also a calculated one. Ponce’s 2025 season was electric, but it didn’t come out of nowhere.
He’d spent the previous three years in Japan’s Pacific League, where the results were more modest-202 innings with a 4.04 ERA from 2022 to 2024. And before heading overseas, his MLB career had been largely unremarkable.
So yes, there’s some risk here. Ponce isn’t exactly a known quantity at the big-league level.
But the upside? That’s what Toronto is betting on.
This is the second major rotation investment the Blue Jays have made in less than a week. They already committed $210 million to Dylan Cease, signaling they’re not just retooling-they’re going all-in. After coming up just short in the 2025 World Series, Toronto is clearly determined to close the gap.
Ponce may not be a household name-at least not yet-but he’s arriving with momentum, confidence, and a fastball that’s picking up steam. If his KBO dominance translates even partially to the majors, the Blue Jays might have found themselves a high-upside arm who can help push them over the top.
And if he keeps breaking records along the way? Well, that just seems to be part of the Cody Ponce experience.