Blue Jays Add To Bullpen, Agree To Terms With Right-Handed Cody Ponce On Three-Year Contract

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with right-handed reliever Cody Ponce on a three-year contract, reports Ken Rosenthal. The contract is for three years and $30 million overall; dollar breakdown by year is not yet known.

Ponce was drafted out of Cal Poly Pomona by Milwaukee in the second round of the 2015 Draft, 55th overall. In his junior season at Cal Poly Pomona, he recorded a 1.44 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings over 13 starts.  Ponce began his professional career in the Brewers system and later moved into a full-time relief role.

In July 2019, Pittsburgh acquired him from Milwaukee in the trade that sent Jordan Lyles to the Brewers. Ponce reached the majors with the Pirates in 2020 and appeared for them in 2020 and 2021. Acr oss those two seasons, he pitched in 20 games, including five starts, logging 55 1/3 innings with a 5.86 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and a 1.54 WHIP. After the 2021 season, he left affiliated ball, ending his initial major league stint and moving on to opportunities in overseas leagues.

After leaving Pittsburgh, Ponce spent three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball and one season in the Korea Baseball Organization. In Japan, he pitched for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, making 39 appearances and throwing 202 innings with a 4.54 ERA and 165 strikeouts. On August 27, 2022, he threw a no-hitter for Nippon-Ham against SoftBank at the Sapporo Dome, facing 28 batters and recording six strikeouts.

Ponce then joined the Hanwha Eagles in Korea. In the 2025 KBO season, he worked 180 2/3 innings with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts as a starter (29 games started). That performance set a new single-season KBO strikeout record, and he also set the league’s single-game strikeout mark with 18 strikeouts on May 17.  He was recognized with the KBO’s Most Valuable Player award and the Choi Dong-won Award as the league’s top starting pitcher.

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[Spanky__99]

Bullpen, I'd be shocked if he pitches out of the pen?