Ryu Hyun-jin, are you still bringing two huge cups of coffee? Ponce 44 Billion Jackpot Why Toronto Reporter Is Excited
Dec 03, 2025
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MLB.com Toronto Blue Jays reporter Keegan Mathison recalled Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles) as soon as the contract agreement between Cody Ponce and Toronto was announced on the 3rd (Korea time).
Ponce's destination, which drew attention from multiple Major League teams, was Toronto. According to ESPN and other U.S. local media reports, Ponce agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract with Toronto and is waiting for a medical test. It is a reversal of life for Ponce, who received 1 million dollars (about 1.4 billion won) from Hanwha this year.
Ryu Hyun-jin is the ace who signed a four-year, $80 million contract with Toronto ahead of the 2020 season. Reporter Mattison wrote a lot of favorable articles while Ryu Hyun-jin was wearing a Toronto uniform. In addition to being close to prospect Alec Manoah (now Atlanta Braves), Ryu Hyun-jin also praised the Toronto clubhouse, which was mostly inexperienced young players at the time, for having a positive effect.
Reporter Mattison noted that Ponce played with Ryu Hyun-jin in Hanwha this year. Ponce was a fan of Ryu Hyun-jin who played in the Major League, and he was also happy to play in the same team with Ryu Hyun-jin. He bought Ryu Hyun-jin's uniform during his time in Toronto and received Ryu's signature himself. Ponce, who played in the All-Star Game, also pitched in a Toronto uniform. In many ways, the relationship between the two players is deep.
Reporter Mattison posted on his SNS page that "When Ponce won the MVP of the Korean Series this season while pitching in Korea, his teammate was Ryu Hyun-jin. I'm excited to ask Ponce if Ryu still walks into the clubhouse with two huge cups of iced coffee"I expected Ponce to join Toronto.
Ponce was a failed prospect in the major leagues. He was named by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 and consistently ranked among the top 30 prospects in the team for about three years, but was eventually traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his performance in the two big league seasons in 2020 and 2021 was only 20 games (five starts), 1-7, 55 ⅓ innings, and a 5.86 ERA.
He moved to the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but it was also not smooth. The Nippon-Ham Fighters managed to perform with a 3.35 ERA in 83 ⅓ innings in 2022 and a 3.66 ERA in 51 ⅔ innings in 2023, but they moved to the Rakuten Golden Eagles last year and struggled with a 6.72 ERA in 67 innings.
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The Athletic reported that the average confinement, which fell from Pittsburgh to 93 miles between 2020 and 2021, rose by about 2 miles in Hanwha. The rise in confinement has made Ponce's breaking ball better, which has not been impressive in the past in Major League Baseball. His new pitch, the splitter, throws more than the other second pitch, and as a result, he has a higher strikeout rate than any pitcher from the KBO,' he analyzed, adding that in the three previous seasons in Japan, Ponce has not had as much success as in Korea this year.
Ponce will use his success in Korea as a stepping stone to increase his ransom by 30 times and head to the Major League. Toronto advanced to the World Series this year, but fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, dubbed the `New Evil Empire' and finished second. The Toronto club is preparing to invest aggressively in the stove league, judging that next year is the right time to win. Recruiting Kyle Tucker, the FA's biggest outfielder, who is expected to invest nearly $500 million (about 734.2 billion won), and defending shortstop??It is known that he is painting a picture of staying until.
Toronto is also working on starting reinforcements. Prior to Ponce, he signed a large contract worth $210 million (about 308.3 billion won) for seven years with Dylan Shees, who boasts 200 strikeouts for five consecutive years.
Seas, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yessebidge, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios already have super-luxury starters, and even Ponce has been added.
Gausman and Bieber are FA after next season, and Berrios could execute the opt-out. Ponce's recruitment is viewed as an early preparation for the 2027 season, which has many variables.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
