9:36pm: Ponce is going for an MRI tonight, manager John Schneider said postgame (relayed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). Francys Romero reports that the Jays are recalling Estrada from Triple-A Buffalo. That seems likely to be the corresponding move for a Ponce injured list placement, though it’s possible they’re simply looking for a fresh arm in the bullpen after Brendon Little and Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles logged 30+ pitches in tough outings tonight.
8:20pm: Blue Jays starter Cody Ponce left tonight’s season debut on a cart in the third inning. The team has only announced the injury as right knee discomfort.
Ponce stumbled while trying to field a chopper off the bat of Rockies center fielder Jake McCarthy (video provided by Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). The big righty was unable to field the ball cleanly, then tried stopping abruptly to pick it up. He tweaked his right leg, took a few more steps, then went down on the dirt a little to the left of first base.
After spending some time on the ground in clear discomfort, Ponce was able to get to his feet with help from trainers and teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He walked gingerly but under his own power to a cart and was taken off the field at Rogers Centre. Louis Varland was called upon from the bullpen.
The Jays will provide more details after Ponce goes for testing. He’ll surely be sent for imaging to determine whether there are any ligament issues. A timetable won’t be known until then. At the very least, it’s tough to see Ponce avoiding a stint on the 15-day injured list.
Toronto has one of the deeper rotations in MLB, as they arguably have eight viable starters. They’ve needed it with season-opening injured list stints for Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos. None of those are expected to be long-term absences. Yesavage, who is behind with a shoulder impingement, is set for a 45-pitch simulated game later this week. Bieber will progress to throwing off a mound on Friday, while Berríos is scheduled for a bullpen session tomorrow (all updates courtesy of the MLB.com injury tracker).
Even if he avoids serious injury, it’s a brutal break for Ponce. The 31-year-old was making his first big league start since 2021. Ponce pitched three seasons in Japan and had a dominant ’25 season with the Hanwha Eagles in Korea. He leveraged the numbers and improved stuff into a three-year, $30MM free agent deal with Toronto. Ponce had fanned three hitters across 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball before the injury.
Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer and swingman Eric Lauer are penciled into the rotation. Toronto has off days on April 3rd, 9th, and 14th. They could get by using a four-man rotation and just one bullpen game into the middle of April. They’d probably prefer to stay on a five-man starting staff and take advantage of the extra days of rest early in the season.
Toronto doesn’t have much rotation depth in the upper minors. Jake Bloss and Ricky Tiedemann are also injured. Prospects Lázaro Estrada and Adam Macko are the other options on the 40-man roster. They each worked a couple innings out of the bullpen in their Triple-A season debuts over the weekend. Grant Rogers, Chad Dallas, CJ Van Eyk and recent minor league signee Austin Voth are non-roster possibilities for a spot start.
I always appreciate the grind. Getting another chance at the show and then this happening is brutal. Keep fighting
That sucks. Hope it’s not as bad as it looks.
I know; occasionally youll have those sports injury moments where it looks bad but is fine or vice versa. Its in the minority but still. Heres hoping was looking forward to seeing how his return to MLB went
It sucks considering he went away for a few years and really went through some tough years of pitching overseas before becoming an ace last year. Really hope he comes back soon I think most baseball fans want to know what he can do in the MLB.
Seemed super unsure of himself on that play, or just not taking it seriously. It doesnt look like his conditioning is very good either so that won’t help his ability to move or stay healthy.
Needs the Luka doncic treatment
This is an idiotic thing to say. His conditioning is fine. He’s a huge human that got turned around trying to make a play.
Is it though? The guy looks a little overweight and unathletic
This stinks. He’s one of the more intriguing stories I was looking forward to following this season. Speedy recovery.
Ponce DL he on.
@Charles B
Beat me to it…
Leave it to MLBTR to Ponce on that story.
Well done
That’s more than discomfort if they are carting him off. Feel bad for the guy. Been there.
@This one belongs to the Reds
At a minimum, a SP carted off the field means a skipped start or an IL stint.
Man, it looked ugly. He’s a big boy (260+). Worst part is, he probably didn’t even need to try to make that play.
The worst part is that even if he fielded it cleanly, he was unlikely to get the speedy McCarthy at first and had no chance at home.
With off days, the Blue Jays can role with a 4-man rotation for a couple of weeks. That may be enough time for them to get Yesavage back who is said to be a couple of weeks away.
Yeah the only issue in April 8th, they’ll need a spot starter or bullpen day as they won’t want to start Lauer on 3 days rest. But otherwise they’re in the clear with a 4 man rotation until the week of the 19th, hopefully enough time to get someone back by then.
Better to do the unknown starter during the White Sox series, not the Dodgers series.
Fortunately looks like Yesavage should be ready to go 5 innings by mid-April, since he’s about to simulate 3.
Oh totally agree. But they’ve got 4 starters who need 4 days rest. So the only way to keep that going with the off days is April 8th.
What do we do about Brendon Little? He’s been off for a while now.
He looked great in spring training, then he refused to throw the pitches that made him better once the season started.
As someone who’s torn 2 ACLs, let’s hope it’s just a meniscus tear. That face said it all though.
It was really sad to see what happened to Ponce last night, I was really rooting for him to do well in his first outing. I wish him a speedy recovery & look forward to watching him on the mound. There is one thing I don’t understand is why Brandon Little is still on the major league roster, especially after last nights game. Can’t they randomly pick somebody from the crowd to fill his position? I’m sure they’d pitch better.
It isn’t good when you have your backup catcher pitching in the 4th game of the season against the Rockies of all teams
They need to move Little, he needs a change of scenery
This is why I fully support players do not hustle unless the game means something. Every time I see Vladdy stretching for an out in March I cringe. He’s paid to hit the ball, not turn a double play in the 2nd inning.