The deal includes the option of a further two-year extension based on performance objectives, according to the club's official statement.
Ponce, born in Rosario in March 1997, returns to the Martínez Valero for a second spell after previously playing for Elche between January 2022 and the summer of 2023, when he made 47 league appearances and scored five goals before moving to AEK Athens.
"With his return, Elche CF gets back a player who knows the club's identity and comes back to offer experience, character and goals in this new stage in LaLiga EA Sports. Welcome back, Eze!" the club said in its statement.
A product of Newell's Old Boys' academy, Ponce moved to European football at a young age with Roma, though he never made his debut for the Italian club and instead built his career through loan spells at Granada, Lille and AEK Athens before a permanent move to Spartak Moscow.
His first Elche stint, from a January 2022 loan that became permanent, was followed by a return to AEK Athens in 2023 and then a move to Houston Dynamo in MLS, where he continued playing at a high level, scoring 15 goals in 59 appearances across two seasons in the United States.
The 29-year-old is known for his mobility, power in the box and ability to attack space, along with intensity out of possession and a strong finishing instinct — attributes that made him an offensive reference point during his first spell and that the club hopes will translate again.
Elche's sporting department had been working on his return for several weeks, with general manager Pedro Schinocca declining to confirm the move publicly until the paperwork was finalised, telling reporters at an earlier press conference that he did not want to "get ahead of situations in the market."
His signing completes Elche's forward line for the new season following the departures of Álvaro Rodríguez, André Silva and Rafa Mir, joining recent arrivals Abiel Osorio and Fer Niño as head coach Martín Anselmi's attacking options ahead of the club's return to La Liga.
Elche had been searching for an additional striker throughout the summer despite already having Osorio and Niño available, reflecting the scale of turnover in the forward line since their promotion was secured.