The other day Josh posed this question in After Dark: Should the Cubs sign Cody Ponce?
Ponce pitched in 20 games for the Pirates in 2020 and 2021, with not much success (5.86 ERA, 1.536 WHIP) and then went
to throw several years in Japan and Korea, with good results the last two years. Now he wants to come back to MLB and teams are apparently interested.
Foster Griffin’s career had a similar trajectory, with a good pedigree coming into pro ball. He was the Royals’ No. 1 pick (28th overall) in 2014 out of high school in Florida. But he pitched in just seven MLB games for the Royals and Blue Jays in 2020 and 2022, losing the 2021 season to Tommy John surgery, then headed to Japan in 2023 to pitch for the Yomiuri Giants.
In three seasons in NPB, Griffin posted a 2.57 ERA and 1.033 WHIP in 54 games covering 315.2 innings, with 78 walks and 318 strikeouts, both good ratios, and allowed just 18 home runs in that time.
A few weeks ago it was reported by Jon Heyman that Griffin was looking to return to MLB:
This isn’t the sort of signing that would make big waves, or solve any large problem with the Cubs rotation. Nevertheless, I think the results Griffin has had in NPB could translate pretty well to MLB. He’s likely not going to put up those sorts of numbers in MLB, but could be a useful fifth starter or swingman.
Griffin is a former No. 1 draft pick. 2026 will be his age-30 season. He doesn’t have a lot of innings under his belt, and he’s left-handed.
A guy like this coming over from Japan — I honestly have no idea what sort of contract he’d warrant. But I do think the Cubs should be interested.
Incidentally, Griffin has faced the Cubs — but not in a MLB game. He was the starting pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants in the exhibition game the Cubs played against them in the Tokyo Dome last March. Griffin threw four shutout innings, then the Cubs lit him up for four in the fifth, including a two-run single by Matt Shaw [VIDEO].
So if the Cubs were to sign Griffin, what sort of deal would you offer him?
