After a short and unsuccessful stint in the major leagues, Cody Ponce was pitching in Asia and still trying to find a mental approach that worked for him on the…<\/p>\n
TORONTO(AP) \u2014 After a short and unsuccessful stint in the major leagues, Cody Ponce was pitching in Asia and still trying to find a mental approach that worked for him on the mound.<\/p>\n
So he started emulating his brother-in-law, NFL star George Kittle. That led to a huge turnaround for Ponce and a $30 million, three-year contract with the AL champion Toronto Blue Jays this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped me bring out my inner child again,\u201d Ponce said Tuesday night on a video call with reporters. \u201cAnd that was something that I felt like I was lacking for the two years prior while I was in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n
A journeyman career changed dramatically in 2025 as Ponce went 17-1 over 29 starts with the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea. He had 252 strikeouts and a 1.89 ERA, helping him win the MVP award in the KBO.<\/p>\n
Ponce gave credit to his wife, family, teammates \u2014 and Kittle, the spirited San Francisco 49ers tight end. Ponce is married to Kittle\u2019s older sister, Emma, and he noticed how her not-so-little brother keeps things playful on the gridiron at times despite the sport\u2019s obvious physicality and intensity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the way he was playing the game of football and was not in awe, but (more) in this view of, wow, you can play such an angry game and be having fun at the same time. But yet still have this type of tenacity, this type of drive, this type of competitiveness, and be doing it all at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, that is something that I want to try to figure out.”<\/p>\n
Ponce said he’s adjusted his approach so he feels more like a Little Leaguer again. He has made it a point to watch \u201cStar Wars\u201d \u2014 sometimes the movies, sometimes the TV series \u2014 before every start.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-6, 255-pound right-hander, who signed with the Blue Jays last week, is also focused on his body, putting in three to four hours a day of recovery work, activation, alignment and training.<\/p>\n
On the mound, he credited former teammate \u2014 and former Blue Jays pitcher \u2014 Hyun Jin Ryu with helping him expand his arsenal by not relying on one type of off-speed pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo types of cutters, two types of curveballs, two types of changeups,\u201d said Ponce, who also throws a splitter and a mid-90s (mph) fastball. \u201cCreating different pitches, and just the pitchability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease, who recently signed a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Blue Jays, will anchor a Toronto rotation that appears to be one of the deepest in baseball.<\/p>\n
Ponce joins a mix of starters that also includes Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos. Bowden Francis, Eric Lauer and others could also factor in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to win baseball games,\u201d Ponce said. \u201cI want to win a World Series. So anything that I can do to be the best help that I can to this team, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old native of Pomona, California, said he got a chance to watch some of the Blue Jays\u2019 playoff run last October. Toronto made it to the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competitive nature of the team, the atmosphere that you can see on the bench during games \u2014 everybody was very lighthearted, but everybody was still very dedicated to wanting to win a ballgame each and every single night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ponce was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of the 2015 amateur draft. He made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 2020 and went 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA over parts of two seasons with the Pirates.<\/p>\n
Ponce split time in Japan between the Nippon Ham Fighters and Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2022-24. He was 15-24 with a 4.54 ERA over three seasons.<\/p>\n
He also spent several months in Japan\u2019s minor leagues before his breakout season in South Korea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to go out there and perform the best I could and try to (create) a possibility of coming back with at least one offer,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then this kind of all happened.\u201d<\/p>\n