TORONTO -- Blue Jays right-hander Cody Ponce is going to miss “significant time” with a right knee injury he sustained in Monday's 14-5 loss to the Rockies, another tough blow to a rotation that’s already dealing with too many injuries.
For now, the diagnosis is a sprained right ACL, but doctors are still reviewing the MRI to determine the extent of the damage and whether there is a tear. Regardless, Ponce won’t be pitching any time soon.
“I talked to him for a while last night, up until about 1 in the morning,” manager John Schneider said. “He’s got a pretty good perspective. He’s frustrated, for sure, but I think he has a good perspective on it. The person in me just hates it for him. His first outing, weird play, all of that. But he’s handling it OK. He was in here with his brother-in-law today, George Kittle.”
Kittle, the star tight end for the 49ers, was in town Monday for Ponce’s Blue Jays debut, his first MLB appearance since 2021. Ponce is married to Kittle’s sister, Emma, and the two have grown close over the years. Ponce has credited Kittle with inspiring him to rediscover the joy of baseball again by watching how Kittle plays, a rare combination of elite talent and personality in the NFL.
Kittle is also rehabbing from a torn achilles he suffered against the Eagles in a January playoff game, so once again, Kittle could be a great resource and support system for Ponce.
The Blue Jays expect to have the full diagnosis and treatment plan within the next 24 hours, and surgery is certainly a possibility. When asked if it’s possible that Ponce pitches again in 2026, Schneider was eager to leave that door cracked open, but the organization’s worry is clear.
“That’s what we’re holding onto,” Schneider said, “until we have all of the opinions. I think there’s probably a slight chance of that.”
Ponce’s injury would be a difficult moment to watch happen to any player, but especially him, given the path he’s travelled to get back to Major League Baseball. Ponce pitched for three seasons in Japan and one in Korea, where he reinvented himself and mastered the kick-change, a pitch that paved his way back to the big leagues on a three-year, $30 million deal with the Blue Jays.
Ponce profiled as such an important piece of this rotation, capable of providing far more upside than you’d typically find with a contract like that in free agency, but that’s on hold for now. Whether we’re talking about months missed or an entire season, the Blue Jays will need to look ahead and stabilize a rotation that already has Shane Bieber, José Berríos and Trey Yesavage on the IL. Berríos and Yesavage could be back in a matter of weeks, but in the meantime, the Blue Jays need an answer, and they need to find that answer without pushing their healthy starters any harder.
“I don’t think we’re going to bump anyone with the [Friday] off-day coming up,” Schneider said. “We’re going to keep them regularly scheduled. We’ll have to use our depth. We’ll have to use whoever can offer length, whether that’s one or two times through.”
Lazaro Estrada will be an option for the Blue Jays along with Canadian lefty Adam Macko. Schneider also mentioned CJ Van Eyk and Chad Dallas, another pair of arms in Triple-A who can provide multiple innings. There isn’t a true starter ready to step in like Eric Lauer did a year ago, so the Blue Jays will need to manage this carefully and limit the amount of strain the void puts on their relievers, too.
The final diagnosis and plan for Ponce could come as early as Wednesday, prior to the Blue Jays’ finale against the Rockies at 1:07 p.m. ET.