"Four years later, the Brewers flipped him to the Pirates ahead of the deadline in exchange for Jordan Lyles. After five seasons in the minors, Ponce made his MLB debut for Pittsburgh in 2020, and from 2020-21, he appeared in 20 games (five starts) at the big league level, pitching to a 5.86 ERA and a 4.38 SIERA in 55 1/3 innings."
"Some of that was surely the result of bad luck - his .382 BABIP was 20 points higher than that of any other NPB pitcher (min. 50 IP) in any of the previous five seasons - but nonetheless, he ended up spending almost as much of the season with the Golden Eagles' farm team as he did with the NPB club."
"In 2025, Ponce opted for a fresh start in South Korea, leaving the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to sign with the Hanwha Eagles. His move to the KBO turned out to be just what he needed. Over 29 starts and 180 2/3 innings, the 6-foot-6 right-hander pitched to a league-leading 1.89 ERA. Ponce set the KBO single-season record with 252 strikeouts and also set a new single-game record in the KBO by punching out 18 opponents."
Ponce was a second-round pick by Milwaukee in 2015, traded to Pittsburgh in 2019, and debuted in MLB in 2020. He appeared in 20 big-league games from 2020-21, posting a 5.86 ERA and 4.38 SIERA in 55 1/3 innings. The Pirates released him after 2021 so he could sign with NPB's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he threw a no-hitter in 2022. A difficult 2024 with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles included a 6.72 ERA and an unusually high .382 BABIP, and significant time at the farm level. In 2025, he signed with the KBO's Hanwha Eagles, led the league with a 1.89 ERA over 180 2/3 innings, set the single-season strikeout record with 252, and recorded a single-game record of 18 strikeouts, drawing attention from MLB scouts.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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