KBO breakout starter tagged as the perfect free agent fit for Padres rotation

Bargain-bin hunting is the name of the game for the San Diego Padres this offseason, especially after watching former ace Dylan Cease sign a lucrative $210 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to Thanksgiving.

They've already begun addressing their need for depth in the starting rotation, re-signing swingman Kyle Hart and adding Sean Boyle on a minor-league free-agent deal.

Those two, along with JP Sears, Matt Waldron, and Double-A prospect Miguel Mendez, represent the entirety of the Padres' pitching depth on the 40-man roster.

With a limited budget that prevented them from keeping Cease in tow (and likely will preclude a reunion with Michael King as well), the Padres will need to continue attacking the lower tiers of the market while hoping Ruben Niebla can continue working his magic.

Seeing as that's the case, it should be no surprise that the team has been attached to international free agent Cody Ponce ahead of the Winter Meetings.

Cody Ponce is a good fit for Padres, but only at a reduced price

Ponce, 31, has made just five starts in MLB and thrown a total of 55 1/3 innings in his big-league career. All of that workload came with the rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021, when the right-hander worked a 5.86 ERA and 5.47 FIP.

In the years since, he's pitched in Japan (NPB) and Korea (KBO) to varied results. He was solid in all three of his NPB seasons, accruing FIPs between 2.90 and 3.60 in each year (even if his ERA fluctuated more intensely). However, he never struck out more than 20% of hitters in a season, and he looked the part of a contact manager who was susceptible to getting hit hard.

Then, the righty made his turn to the KBO in 2025, and everything clicked. In 29 starts (180 2/3 innings), Ponce logged a 1.89 ERA and 2.15 FIP, striking out a whopping 36.2% of hitters. He also continued holding his walk rate in check (5.9%) while surrendering just 0.50 home runs per nine innings. His velocity was up, and he looked sharper than ever.

Now, he's ready to return to MLB, and as a low-cost, high-upside signing, he'd make a lot of sense for the cash-strapped Friars. However, The Athletic has reported that Ponce could command upward of $40 million over three years, with some suggesting an AAV of $15 million as the right-hander's target.

That's not an egregious number in today's game, but for someone with very limited MLB exposure and a lack of success in that time, that's a lot of money to bet on a pitcher who will turn 32 shortly after Opening Day.

In effect, Ponce is a worthwhile target to monitor, but not one to priortize for A.J. Preller and company. If his market fails to materialize and the Padres can get him for cheap, then the team should make every effort to sign him to a major-league contract. If he's able to find the deal he's reportedly seeking, though, San Diego can better invest that money elsewhere.