The Toronto Blue Jays are not hesitating to fortify the backbone of their success the past four seasons: Starting pitching.
On the same day they announced the signing of Dylan Cease to a $210 million contract, the club agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with another right-handed starter, Cody Ponce, a person with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by The Athletic, is not yet official.
Who is Ponce, you ask?
Well, he’s the latest pitcher who started his career in the major leagues, only to reinvent themselves playing overseas and return a finished product, ready to cash in on a more lucrative deal. Ponce, 31, pitched in 20 games, including five starts, for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2020 and ’21 seasons, posting a 5.86 ERA.
Stuck in a perpetual swingman role even in the Pirates’ minor leagues, he ventured to Asia in 2022 and in three seasons in Japan’s top leagues, largely could not shake that inconsistency.
Yet a move to Hanwa of South Korea’s KBO seemed to flip the switch.
He dominated this past season for the Eagles, striking out 252 batters in 189⅔ innings, with a 1.89 ERA and a 17-1 record over 29 starts. He earned MVP honors for his performance. Ponce’s fastball now sits at 95 mph, a couple beats faster than his heater with the Pirates, and like so many major leaguers in recent years has added a split-finger pitch to his repertoire.
That will fit right in on the Blue Jays, whose rotation returnees in 2026 are splitter-happy veteran Kevin Gausman and rookie Trey Yesavage. Combined with Cease, that makes for a potentially dominant starting four, with veteran righty Jose Berrios – who sat out the Blue Jays’ World Series run with an elbow injury – leading a deep contingent of arms who could fill in the No. 5 spot, barring trade.
And it also backfills both current and expected future losses in the rotation. Chris Bassitt’s three-year deal with the club expired after the World Series, as did Max Scherzer’s one-year deal. Gausman’s $115 million pact is up after 2026.
Having taken care of their most significant winter need, the Blue Jays can now focus on retaining infielder Bo Bichette, their most significant free agent from their pennant-winning roster.