, Ponson signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Texas Rangers. Ponson began the 2008 season with the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks. On April 26, the Rangers purchased his contract, and he became the team's third starter. Ponson compiled a fairly solid 4–1 record and 3.88 ERA for the season, and was one of the few bright spots on a dreadful rotation. However, he ran into trouble off the field. He was seen late at night in the hotel bar in St. Petersburg, Florida while the Rangers were visiting Tampa Bay. The next day, the Rays lit him up for 12 hits in five innings. Rangers officials told Ponson that any further incident would result in him being dropped from the team. He was pulled four innings into a June 4 game against Cleveland, and reacted angrily, especially since three errors led to four runs. The next day, he blew up at manager Ron Washington after being told he'd be pushed back from his next start to keep Kevin Millwood on his regular schedule. On June 6, Texas abruptly designated Ponson for assignment for what general manager Jon Daniels called "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of a teammate." Daniels added, "We don't feel Sidney deserves to be here or wants to be here. We're not going to get into details other than to say we're clearly trying to put together a team here, in a true sense of the word. Based on some recent comments and other such things, it was pretty clear that he did not want to be part of that, and it's something we're not going to tolerate." Return to the Yankees On June 9, 2008, Ponson signed a minor league deal returning to the Yankees for a second time. He made his first start on June 27, 2008 in a Subway Series against the Mets. Ponson pitched six shutout innings in his first start back with the Yankees, which they eventually won 9–0. His record with the Yankees in 2008 was 4–4 with a 5.85 ERA. For the season, he had the highest run support of all pitchers, with an average of 6.5 runs per game started. World Baseball Classic Ponson pitched for the Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Ponson would finish with an ERA of 4.00 in nine innings pitched over two appearances, earning the win