Blue Jays sign Cody Ponce: What to know as righty comes back to MLB after successful stint in Korea

The Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement with free-agent starter Cody Ponce on a three-year pact worth $30 million, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Ponce is the second starter the Blue Jays have added in the past week. They also officially announced their seven-year deal with Dylan Cease, a $210 million pact that’s the largest free-agent contract ever handed out by the Toronto franchise. 

Ponce, 31, has not pitched at the MLB level since 2021. He spent last season with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, starting 29 times and amassing a 1.89 ERA and a 6.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. CBS Sports ranked Ponce as the 45th-best player on the market. Here’s what we wrote at the time:

Ponce, 32 come April, will return stateside after spending a few years overseas, first in Japan and then in South Korea. He’ll look nothing like he did during his first 20 career MLB appearances. These days, he’s capable of touching into the upper-90s with his heater and throws, among other secondaries, a quality splitter. There are enough KBO-to-MLB pitching success stories — ranging from someone with staying power, in Merrill Kelly, to more fleeting cases, like Erick Fedde and Chris Flexen — to envision a team giving Ponce a rotation spot on a multi-year pact to demonstrate where he lands on that spectrum.

Here’s more to know about the Ponce signing.

The Blue Jays have a rotation surplus

In addition to Cease and Ponce, the Blue Jays had Shane Bieber remain in his contract rather than execute an opt-out clause and enter free agency. Factor in Kevin Gausman, star rookie Trey Yesavage, and José Berríos, and Toronto has the luxury of having more capable starters than rotation slots. And that’s without mentioning Bowden Francis, who has started nearly 30 times the past two years, or Eric Lauer, who had a 3.18 ERA in 104 innings in 2025.

Of course, that’s a good problem to have at this or any point in time because it gives the Blue Jays options and contingency plans. They can entertain trading from that group, and they can toy with shifting a couple members to the bullpen. They can also enter camp knowing that if and when an injury happens — and pitchers are known for getting hurt on occasion — they have internal backups already in place.

Keep in mind, the Blue Jays didn’t have that luxury entering last year, when they had to rush to sign Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña to serve as stopgaps on an injury-ravaged staff.

Bullpen, shortstop remain questions for AL champs

What else do the defending American League champions need to do this winter? A few things.

Foremost, the Blue Jays have been linked to most of the high-leverage relievers of note, including right-hander Pete Fairbanks. It stands to reason they’ll attempt to add quality instead of quantity to their relief corps. That’s because Toronto is starting to run into a numbers game with its pitching staff. With Ponce included, the Blue Jays now have nine pitchers who cannot be optioned to the minors. If Yesavage is part of the Opening Day rotation — and you would assume he is — then Toronto really has only three “flex” spots, depending on how they proceed with the rest of the winter. 

Elsewhere, the Blue Jays have to figure out if they’re going to retain free agent Bo Bichette, turn to an internal replacement, or try to land a new shortstop from outside the organization. Bichette, considered one of the best free agents available, hasn’t yet generated much rumor mill buzz ahead of the start of next week’s Winter Meetings. Should the Blue Jays stay in house, the path of least resistance would have them slide Andrés Giménez to short and install Ernie Clement at second base.