San Francisco Giants Interested in Signing Another KBO Superstar

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Cody Ponce pitches for the Pirates against the Brewers on July 3, 2021.

On Friday October 24, 2025, baseball insider Francys Romero reported that KBO superstar pitcher Cody Ponce is a candidate to return to the MLB this offseason and several teams have shown interest in acquiring him. San Francisco Giants insider Andrew Baggarly previously reported the Giants have interest in signing him.

Ponce, 31, had an absolutely spectacular season with the Hanwha Eagles in 2025. He had a 17-1 record and 1.89 ERA in 29 starts, striking out a whopping 252 batters in just 180 ⅔ innings.

Ponce has transformed his fastball, adding over 2 miles an hour, and his splitfinger changeup since leaving the MLB back in 2021. He played three seasons in Japan before moving to the KBO this season.

The Giants would look to add him to their starting rotation, which has very little depth. Beyond Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp, the Giants have no idea who will handle the majority of their starts next season as of right now.

Parallel To Other Giants

The Giants have had great success in recent years bringing American players from Asia back to the MLB.

The most relevant example of this was when the Giants signed Ryan Vogelsong in 2011. Vogelsong had been out of the MLB and pitching mostly in Japan since 2007.

Upon joining the Giants in 2011, Vogelsong immediately made his first and only All-Star appearance of his career. He went on to help the Giants to two World Series championships, in 2012 and 2014.

Ponce would be following almost literally in Vogelsong’s footsteps as a former Pirates pitcher who took his career overseas then returned to the Giants. But to make matters even better, he would be younger (31) than Vogelsong (34) was when he made his return.

The Giants also got great production out of Darin Ruf for a few seasons after they signed him in 2020. Ruf spent time in the KBO with the Samsung Lions from 2017-2019 after the Philadelphia Phillies (the other Pennsylvania team, ironically) let him go after the 2016 season.

Ponce should learn from his predecessors. Pennsylvania to Asia to San Francisco is the path to reviving your career.

The Giants also of course have former KBO superstar Jung Hoo Lee on their roster. Lee played for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO.

Ponce Has A Big San Francisco Tie

But that’s not the only reason Ponce should consider coming to the Bay Area. The other big reason is because if he did, he could be reunited with family!

Ponce is the brother-in-law of superstar San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle! Ponce is married to Kittle’s sister Emma.

Emma is actually pregnant with a baby girl due this fall, so why not allow her to grow up near Uncle George? Ponce and Kittle could attend one anothers’ big games, and just generally have an easier time getting together for family gatherings.

Giants fans would certainly be psyched to see the Kittles at Oracle Park, and the 49ers faithful would certainly be energized to cheer alongside the Ponces as well.

Giants fans, do you think President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey should bring Cody Ponce to San Francisco? If so, what should his contract look like?

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering USC football, the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football. He has previously covered the greater USC Athletics, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman