Mexico national team general manager Rodrigo López confirmed several starting pitchers he is recruiting for Mexico’s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic in an interview with Mexican journalist Memo García.
One of those pitchers is Cody Ponce. His father’s family is from Mexico, which makes the 31-year-old eligible to represent the country at the 2026 WBC. Ponce has previously pitched in MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball. In 20 career MLB games—mostly as a reliever—he posted a 5.86 ERA over 55 1/3 innings, spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He then pitched in Japan from 2022–24 with the Nippon-Ham Fighters and Rakuten Golden Eagles, recording a 4.54 ERA in 39 relief appearances across three seasons while also spending time in the minor leagues.
In 2025, Ponce signed with Hanwha in the KBO and reinvented himself, producing one of the best seasons in league history. He went 17-1 with a KBO-leading 1.89 ERA and a league-record 252 strikeouts, winning the pitching triple crown. He also earned the Choi Dong-won Award, the KBO’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award.
On Monday, Cody Ponce was named the MVP of the KBO. He is just the 6th non-Korean pitcher to win league MVP. After his historic season in Korea, Ponce is returning to MLB for 2026 and is currently a free agent. He has drawn strong interest from Mexico’s national team and is viewed as a potential top-of-the-rotation option as Mexico aims for its first WBC championship next spring.
López also mentioned several other pitchers Mexico is recruiting who have expressed interest, including Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker, Chicago Cubs pitcher Javier Assad, free agent José Urquidy, Phillies pitcher Alan Rangel, Colorado Rockies pitcher Brennan Bernardino and free agent Marcelo Martínez. Martínez spent 2025 with the Rakuten Monkeys and was one of the top starters in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Urquidy was one of Mexico’s most important pitchers at the 2023 WBC and nearly helped the team upset Japan in the semifinal. He missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery and made only two appearances for the Detroit Tigers in 2025. He is currently pitching for Mazatlán in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, where he has been one of the circuit’s top arms with a 1.35 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 20 innings. Once he signs with an MLB club, he will need organizational approval to participate in the tournament because of his 2025 Injured List status. If granted, he is a lock for the rotation.
Mexico will not have its top two starters from the 2023 WBC. Patrick Sandoval is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Julio Urías, who is a free agent after serving his second suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy, is not in the national team’s plans. Because of that, Mexico has increased its focus on Mexican players pitching in Asia in hopes of solidifying its rotation—especially with Assad also potentially at risk of missing the tournament due to injury issues in 2025.
Mexico is in Pool B in Houston for the 2026 WBC, grouped with Great Britain, Brazil, the United States and Italy. Pool play runs March 6–11, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals in Houston. Winners there will move on to the semifinals in Miami. The tournament concludes March 17.
Illustration courtesy of the KBO League.
