Former Hanwha Ponce, 'Mexico's national team' Mystery Excluding WBC → Was it burdensome for 197 innings in the 2025 season

*This content was translated by AI.

Cody Ponce (32, Toronto Blue Jays), who swept the regular league MVP (best player) and three pitchers as the best starting pitcher in the KBO league in the 2025 season, eventually failed to play in the 2026 WBC (World Baseball Classic). Since joining the Mexican national team was a fact, there are various interpretations about the exclusion of the final entry. Although the exact reason has yet to be revealed, speculation continues that many innings in the 2025 season may have affected it.

On the 6th, the WBC Organizing Committee released the final roster of 30 participating countries on its official website. Fifteen players were listed as pitchers, but Ponce could not be found. Former and current major league players such as Taijuan Walker (34, Philadelphia Phillies), Javier Assad (29, Chicago Cubs), and Jose Urquidy (31, former Detroit Tigers) easily joined the Mexican national team.

Initially, Ponce was a starting resource carefully contacted by Mexico's national team coach Benji Gill. Even though he was a U.S. national, he took advantage of Ponce's father's Mexican descent to join the team. Ponce himself has also expressed his will, saying, "It is an honor to throw for Mexico." However, it was excluded in the end. As a result, multiple Mexican media are also reacting as a mystery.

The first reason to be raised is the "after-effects of the 2025 season." Ponce struck out 252 in 180 ⅔ innings in the regular season for the Hanwha Eagles in the 2025 season. In addition, he pitched 17 more innings, including two playoff games and one Korean Series game. It was a record season that will remain in KBO history, but at the same time, it is analyzed that considerable fatigue must have accumulated in the shoulders and elbows.

Ponce was the most pitched inning in his career, including the minor leagues. According to baseball statistics site Baseball Reference, Ponce pitched 137 ⅔ innings between Single A and Double A in the 2017 season, his most innings record.

The business aspect also seems to have been negligible. Ponce signed a three-year contract with Toronto for a total of $30 million (about 44.1 billion won) ahead of this season. According to multiple media outlets, including Yahoo Sports in the U.S., SportsNet in Canada, and the Paul Terry, Ponce expressed interest in participating in the WBC, but said, "What's clear is that I'm a member of Toronto. I have to discuss what the best option the club wants me to do," he said.

In fact, Toronto's starting lineup situation is too fierce for Ponce to leave. According to another baseball statistics site, FanGraph.COM, Ponce is placed on the fourth-line issue, behind Dylan Sheath, Kevin Kausman and Shane Bieber. Even Trey Yeservige (23) and Jose Berrios (32) have been chasing Ponce's status. In the end, he is in a position to establish himself for the 4th to 5th starting positions in the spring camp. It is highly likely that the club, which invested a large amount of money, also strongly recommended "commitment to camp instead of WBC" to block Ponce's risk of injury from international competitions and to have enough time to re-adapt to the Major League official ball and environment.

Meanwhile, Mexico is tied to Group B along with the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil at 2026 WBC. It will play the WBC finals at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. If the Korean national team in Group C passes the group qualifying round, it is expected to meet Mexico in the semifinals. In the 2023 WBC, Mexico lost to Japan 5-6 in the semifinals, failing to advance to the final. Unfortunately, he remained in third place, so he is aiming for a higher performance in this competition.

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*This content was translated by AI.