Since 2022, Cody Ponce has been pitching overseas. He spent time in Japan and just wrapped up his first season in South Korea. He’s not a high-profile pitcher many New York Mets fans would know. Just 20 big league games of experience, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he’s someone David Stearns already knows from his time with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ponce was drafted in 2015 by the Brewers a few months before Stearns became the club’s general manager. In 2019, he was traded to Pittsburgh for Jordan Lyles. The 31-year-old righty had some mild success in Japan before putting together a monster season in the KBO this past year.