Cody Ponce, the 2025 KBO regular-season MVP, has signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. His former Hanwha Eagles teammate Ryan Weiss has joined the Houston Astros on a one-year contract. The news was confirmed by team sources on Wednesday.
Cody Ponce was named the 2025 KBO season MVP last month. He won the Triple Crown with 17 wins, a 1.89 ERA and a league-record 252 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings for the Hanwha Eagles. Ponce has 20 major league games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021, and pitched three seasons in Japan before joining the Eagles in 2025. The 31-year-old now joins the reigning American League pennant winners Blue Jays, whose rotation is led by Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and Dylan Cease.
Earlier Wednesday, multiple U.S. reports said Hanwha's other 2025 ace Ryan Weiss signed with the Houston Astros. Weiss will earn $2.6 million in his one-year major league contract and could make over $7 million through 2027 if a club option is exercised. Turning 29 next Wednesday, Weiss has no prior majors experience. He was selected in the fourth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018, reached Triple-A, then went to Taiwan in 2023 and the KBO in 2024.
As an injury replacement in 2024, Weiss went 5-5 with a 3.76 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings for Hanwha. In 2025, he posted 16-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings, finishing third in wins and innings pitched, fourth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA. Ponce and Weiss became the first teammate pair to each top 200 strikeouts in a season, helping the Eagles reach the postseason for the first time since 2018 before losing to the LG Twins in the Korean Series.
Preparing for the loss of both aces, the Eagles signed former minor leaguer Wilkel Hernandez on Saturday and acquired Taiwanese pitcher Wang Yan-Cheng as their Asian quota player on Nov. 13. KBO clubs can sign a maximum of two foreign-born pitchers and, starting in 2026, an additional player from Asia or Australia.