The Toronto Blue Jays got some bad news on the injury front.
Starter Cody Ponce will miss “significant time” with a right ACL sprain, manager John Schneider told reporters on Tueday per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
According to Schneider, the team is waiting on a couple more opinions before an exact course of action is charted, but Ponce will be placed on the injured list.
During the top of the third inning of Monday’s 14-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Ponce fell to the ground after chasing a soft chopper and later had to be carted off the field.
The 31-year-old appeared to tweak something, landing a step on his right leg in pursuit of a Jake McCarthy soft bouncer. He hopped around for a few steps before dropping to the ground in obvious discomfort. The Blue Jays announced that he was removed from the game with right knee discomfort.
After Monday’s contest, Schneider said Ponce was undergoing an MRI.
“He kinda felt it hyperextended a little bit,” Schneider said. “Hoping for the best. It sucks, his first outing, kinda his journey, what he’s been through.”
Ponce, who signed a $30-million, three-year contract during the off-season, was 2.1 innings into his first big-league appearance since Oct. 3, 2021, when he gave up four runs in 1.1 innings of relief for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 loss to Cincinnati.
Ponce overpowered the Rockies before the injury, getting 15 misses on 29 swings, but he slipped and rolled off the mound earlier in the at-bat to McCarthy before missing the chopper on which he was injured, allowing a Kyle Karros walk to score.
His status is a major question for the Blue Jays, who have starters Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber all on the injured list, with none of them returning imminently. They have few traditional starter options at triple-A Buffalo, which is why Austin Voth was signed recently to provide rotation innings.
Grant Rogers, Chad Dallas, Adam Macko, Lazaro Estrada and Yariel Rodriguez are all bulk options the club can consider.
–with files from Shi Davidi
