According to a report from Jeff Passan, the Toronto Blue Jays are handing former Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Cody Ponce three years and $30 million to bring his career full circle after a monster run in South Korea with the Hanwha Eagles. Yes, the same Ponce who last pitched in MLB in 2021 and once looked like “rotation depth” at best in Pittsburgh.
If this were a movie plot and not a real transaction from Major League Baseball’s multiverse, Pirates fans would demand a rewrite. But here we are. A former Pirate just cashed a $30M check while Pittsburgh is once again asking its fanbase to believe in “internal options” and “marginal upside.