Cody Ponce News: Perfect inning in spring debut
Ponce struck out two in a perfect inning during the Blue Jays' Grapefruit League game against the Tigers on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old right-hander fired 16 of 22 pitches for strikes in his spring debut, getting Parker Meadows to swing through a cutter before fooling top prospect Kevin McGonigle with the kick-change that helped him turn his career around overseas. Ponce won the KBO's MVP Award in 2025 with the Hanwha Eagles on the strength of a 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 252:41 K:BB over 180.2 innings, a performance that netted him a three-year, $30 million deal from Toronto this offseason. He's being counted on to fill a mid-rotation spot in his return to MLB, and the kick-change may give him more strikeout upside than projected against big-league hitters.
