Cody Ponce, seen here with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021, has signed a three-year, US$30-million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and will return to MLB in 2026.Keith Srakocic/The Associated Press
A year ago at this time Cody Ponce was staring at the possibility that his baseball career might be on life support. He sat on the couch with his wife, Emma, and they debated whether he should try to pitch in independent ball or give it a shot – perhaps a final one – for one year in Korea.
He was 30 at the time and had bounced around the minor leagues, had minimal success in the majors and two unsuccessful seasons in Japan. Attempts to jump-start his career seemed to have failed.
Then he signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization and then, like magic, everything he had tried to do for so long clicked. Ponce went 17-1 and won the league’s most valuable player and top pitcher awards. He struck out 252 batters in 180 innings and finished with a 1.89 earned run average.
Last week he was out for a run with his dog when his agent called and told him the Toronto Blue Jays had offered him a three-year, US$30-million contract. It didn’t take him long to say yes, about the same amount of time it took to race home and tell his wife, who had predicted that very same thing.
Her response, he said, was that she told him this would happen. She manifested it. Emma’s brother is George Kittle, an all-pro tight end with the San Francisco 49ers.
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On Tuesday evening Ponce addressed Toronto broadcasters and journalists for the first time on a video call. He is earnest, funny and a bit quirky.
He confessed that he is a Star Wars nerd and had Star Wars memorabilia in the background as he spoke. Earlier this year, when he played in the Korean League’s all-star game he showed up wearing a Darth Vader mask. He also has a Star Wars tattoo.
On Tuesday he joked that his infant daughter was the couple’s very own Princess Leia. No word if Emma is okay with that.
Toronto had a tremendous season in 2025. It lost in Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It had a 3-2 lead after five games and then was beaten in 11 innings in the finale.
The Blue Jays have a formidable pitching staff as they enter the 2026 season. Their No. 1 starter will be Dylan Cease, also a newcomer, followed by Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Ponce.
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The latter is an expensive risk but one Toronto believes is acceptable. He is 6-feet-6 and 260 pounds – about the size of an NFL linebacker – and throws 94 to 96 miles per hour and delivers about four different breaking pitches he seemed to perfect in Korea.
He credits his wife for her unwavering support. He was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 and played for nine different minor league teams and two in Japan.
His career big league totals are 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA in parts of two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“The most improvements I have made are off the field,” he said. “I turned into the 12-year-old kid playing Little League again. Emma helped bring the inner child in me again which I think I had blocked out in my two years in Japan.
“In Korea, I felt like I was always having a lot of fun out there.”
Ponce said he doesn’t watch much baseball – or sports in general. He did tune in during the Major League playoffs, and was quite smitten with the Blue Jays.
“I liked the competitive nature of the team,” he said. “I liked the atmosphere you could see on the bench. It looked like they had a lot of fun while I was watching.
“I chose Toronto because I want to win baseball games. I want to win a World Series.”