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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Cody Ponce is looking to transfer his KBO success to MLB
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Photo credit: © Sam Greene/The Enquirer
Ryley Delaney
Jan 24, 2026, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 24, 2026, 02:56 EST
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Cody Ponce was one of two starters signed by the Toronto Blue Jays so far this off-season.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Andrés Giménez. In this article, we’ll look at Cody Ponce.
Drafted in the second round of the 2015 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, Ponce never quite figured out how to pitch at a big league level in his first stint in North America. After pitching parts of five seasons in the minor leagues, Ponce made his big league debut in 2020 with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a 26-year-old. That season saw him post a 3.18 ERA and 6.66 FIP in 17 innings pitched.
In those five appearances, Ponce made three starts, but essentially moved to a bulk-reliever role in 2021 with the Pirates. In 15 games, Ponce only started two of them an accumulated 38.1 innings, where he had a 7.04 ERA and 4.94 FIP. His career K% sits at 19.6%, and following the 2021 season, Ponce headed overseas.
Signing with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for the 2022 and 2023 season, Ponce had a 3.35 ERA and 3.60 FIP in 83.1 innings pitched in his first season, and a 3.66 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 51.2 innings pitched in his second season, making just 24 starts in total. Ponce’s third season in Japan came with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, authoring a 6.72 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 67 innings pitched. His K% never reached 20% in these three seasons.
Everything changed when he joined the Korean Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles, as Ponce’s velocity ticked up and he added a nasty kick-changeup. In 180.2 innings pitched in Korea, Ponce posted a 1.89 ERA and 2.15 FIP in 180.2 innings pitched. Since his big league debut in 2020, Ponce never had a K% above 20.1% in MLB and Japan, but his K% jumped significantly in 2025, finishing with a 36.2 K%.
Thanks to those stats, as well as a 17-1 record, Ponce was named the KBO MVP, and even set the record for most strikeouts in a single game, surpassing former Blue Jay and teammate Hyun Jin Ryu’s record.
Although Ponce was signed as a starter and will likely be given the chance to start, it’s unclear what his exact role will be. As it stands, the Jays currently have six starters who could fill a spot in the rotation, including Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Kevin Gausman, and Dylan Cease.
Either way, Ponce’s stint with the Blue Jays will be better than his last stint in Major League Baseball. Fangraphs’ Steamer projects he’ll finish the season with a 3.98 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 150 innings pitched, starting 23 of the 44 games he’ll appear in. It also projects he’ll have a 22.9 K%, but it won’t be surprising if it’s far higher than that.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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