Cody Ponce, a 31-year-old right-hander, is attracting significant interest on the MLB free-agent market after a dominant 2025 season in the KBO League. The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher is expected to return to the majors in 2026 with a potentially lucrative contract. Reports suggest he could secure a three-year deal worth at least $30 million.
Cody Ponce's path back to Major League Baseball appears promising following his standout performance overseas. After spending two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2020 to 2021, where he posted a 1-7 record with a 5.86 ERA in 20 games (five starts) and 48 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings, Ponce pitched in Japan and Korea for the past four seasons.
In Japan, over three seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, he went 10-16 with a 4.54 ERA in 39 outings, recording 165 strikeouts in 202 innings. He also threw a no-hitter in Nippon Professional Baseball in 2022. Ponce found greater success in his one season in Korea, leading the Hanwha Eagles to a 17-1 record with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings, averaging 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
His 252 strikeouts set a new KBO single-season record, and he established a single-game mark with 18 strikeouts on May 17. Ponce earned the KBO League MVP award and the Choi Dong-won Award as the league's top starting pitcher. He improved his fastball velocity to around 95 mph—up two mph from his Pirates days—and introduced an effective splitter that boosted his strikeout totals.
According to a report from The Athletic, Ponce could command a three-year contract valued at $30 million or more, potentially exceeding $40 million. This interest aligns with recent trends of pitchers returning successfully from Korea or Japan, such as Erick Fedde, who signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Chicago White Sox in 2024 after KBO success; Nick Martinez with the San Diego Padres in 2022 from NPB; Merrill Kelly with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019 from KBO; and Miles Mikolas with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 from NPB.