Coming (Back) to America

The Japanese trio of Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto and Tatsuya Imai is rightfully going to get most of the headlines for players coming to the U.S. this offseason, but there’s another group of free agents looking to make it back to the majors after playing overseas.

Cody Ponce, RHP (KBO)

The former second-round pick of the Brewers back in 2015 has pitched the last four seasons overseas, but really flourished in Korea this season, which has put him on the radar for major league teams. The 31-year-old won the Choi Dong-won Award (best starting pitcher) in the KBO this year after going 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 180 2/3 innings for the Hanwha Eagles. The previous Choi Dong-won winners were also former big leaguers in Erick Fedde and Kyle Hart, and both of them secured major league deals the following offseason.

The belief around baseball is that Ponce will get a bigger deal than each of them. Fedde signed for two years, $15 million with the White Sox in 2023, and Hart received a one-year, $1.5 million deal with a club option from the Padres last offseason. Neither Fedde nor Hart had the type of season Ponce did in the KBO this year. This week, Ponce was named the MVP of the league with 76% of the votes. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Ponce will get a two-year, $22 million deal this offseason.

Ponce set the KBO single-game strikeout record during a game in May with 18 and set the season record with 252. His fastball averaged about 93 mph during his brief MLB days with the Pirates, but he is now in the mid-90s and hit 98 mph this year. He also added a kick-change, his new favorite secondary in terms of pitch usage.

Anthony Kay, LHP (NPB)

A name Mets fans should remember from his two separate stints in the organization. The Mets drafted Kay with the 31st overall pick in the 2016 draft, three years after they drafted him in the 29th round but he didn’t sign. The left-hander was pitching well in the Mets farm system when they traded him and fellow pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays for starter Marcus Stroman during the 2019 trade deadline. Kay returned to the Mets in 2023 when they claimed him off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Kay, 30, pitched in three big league games for the Mets before he returned to the Cubs on waivers.

The left-hander was dominant this season in Japan, posting a 1.74 ERA for the Yokohama BayStars in 155 2/3 innings. Kay pitched seven scoreless innings in Game 4 of the Japan Series, with Yokohama eventually winning the championship. Kay attributes some of his success this season to his added two-seamer, which has allowed him to get a bunch of ground balls. He also uses a four-seamer, cutter, changeup, sweeper and is working on a curveball. He averaged 95 mph on his four-seamer, and his new two-seamer helped him lead the NPB with a 57% ground ball rate.

Foster Griffin, LHP (NPB)

Griffin is a similar story to the previously mentioned lefty Kay. Griffin was a first-round pick in 2014, had a couple of successful seasons in the minors, but ultimately struggled in a small sample size in the majors. This season was his third straight in Japan and arguably his best, though he was limited to 78 innings due to injuries. In those 78 innings as a starter for the Yomiuri Giants, he had a minuscule 1.62 ERA, while limiting opponents to 56 hits and only one home run. His ERA+ was 92nd percentile this season. Griffin did pitch 138 innings during the 2024 season.

The soft tosser uses a total of seven pitches with a four-seamer topping out in the low 90s. Both his slider (39.1%) and changeup (50%) were highly effective at getting whiffs this season. The 30-year-old also throws a cutter, knuckle curve, splitter and sinker. Griffin does have experience pitching out of the bullpen in addition to his recent time as a starter.

Adam Oller, RHP (KBO)

Another name Mets fans are likely familiar with. The Mets traded Oller and pitching prospect J.T. Ginn to the A’s for veteran starter Chris Bassitt back in March of 2022. The Mets picked up Oller in the minor league portion of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft and he was the organization’s 2021 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Oller struggled in the majors with the A’s in 2022 and 2023 (combined ERA of 7.09) and signed a minor league deal with the Marlins for 2024. He was a bit better in 2024 with the Marlins, but still struggled to a 5.31 ERA in eight starts.

The 31-year-old decided to take a chance on going overseas, signing with the Kia Tigers in the KBO. It worked out well for the former Mets farmhand; he posted a 3.62 ERA and struck out 169 batters in a career-best 149 innings. A big reason for his success was his ability to limit the long ball, with his 0.5 home runs per nine innings ranking sixth among qualified starters. I’m told Oller is already receiving interest from multiple MLB teams about a return to the States.

Kyle Keller, RHP (NPB)

The 32-year-old has spent the last four seasons between two different teams in Japan after pitching to a 5.83 ERA the previous three seasons in the majors with three teams. After posting a 1.71 ERA in 26 1/3 innings for the Hanshin Tigers, Keller has spent the last two years as a teammate of Griffin with the Yomiuri Giants.

Keller had arguably his best season in 2024 when he had a 1.53 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 47 innings. Though his ERA was higher this season (3.11), his peripherals were similar to previous seasons over 46 1/3 innings. He uses a three-pitch mix of a four-seamer, splitter and curveball. He’s expected to get interest from MLB teams once he officially becomes a free agent on Dec. 1.

Drew Anderson, RHP (KBO)

The former Phillies prospect had the kind of season that would have drawn more attention if not for Ponce, who had one of the best pitching seasons in KBO history. In his second season for the SSG Landers, the 31-year-old had a 2.25 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 171 1/3 innings over 30 starts. The previous KBO season record for strikeouts was 225 before both Ponce and Anderson broke that mark this season.

Anderson’s 6.3 hits per nine innings this season was lower than the 6.4 from MVP Ponce. Before the last two seasons as a starter in the KBO, Anderson was a reliever in NPB with the Hiroshima Carp. In his final season there, he posted a 2.20 ERA over 45 innings, allowing only 30 hits.

Jon Duplantier, RHP (NPB)

The former third-round pick was dominant in 2025 when he was on the mound for the Hanshin Tigers. He posted a 1.39 ERA and struck out a whopping 113 batters in only 90 2/3 innings this season. His 11.2 K/9, 0.81 WHIP and 5.3 H/9 all ranked in the top 5 for pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. He allowed only one home run in the entire 2025 season and his 26.6 K-BB led the league. He tossed two complete game shutouts for the Tigers this season.

It was the first season pitching overseas for Duplantier, and he actually tossed 20 innings for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate Syracuse in 2024. The 31-year-old uses a four-seamer, cutter, curveball, changeup and slider. His curve fared well against lefties (58.9 whiff%) and righties (48.3 whiff%) this season, with an overall whiff% of 54.1.

Other names to know include: RHP Rowan Wick, RHP Mitch White, INF Patrick Wisdom, RHP Patrick Murphy and INF Tyler Austin.

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