Blue Jays’ Cody Ponce will miss significant time with sprained knee ligament, manager says

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Cody Ponce has sprained the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Manager John Schneider says he expects Ponce will be out for the forseeable future as he recovers from the injury.

Schneider says Ponce’s MRI will be reviewed Tuesday by one or two more doctors before officially being put on the Blue Jays’ injured list.

Ponce was carted off the field in the third inning of Toronto’s 14-5 loss to the visiting Colorado Rockies on Monday.

He was chasing down a ground ball by Rockies centre-fielder Jake McCarthy when his knee buckled and he rolled to the ground in obvious pain.

It was Ponce’s regular-season debut for the Blue Jays after signing a three-year, $30-million US deal with Toronto on Dec. 10.

“He felt it hyperextend a little bit, that’s what he told me on the field,” Schneider said Monday night.

Schneider said Ponce, second baseman Ernie Clement and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., all did what they were supposed to do on the play.

“I think if [Ponce] caught the ball, it might have been a different outcome,” said the manager. “I think as he kind of stumbled to recover the ball, is where the injury happened.”

Ponce played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021, appearing in a total of 20 games with a 1-7 record and a 5.86 earned-run average. He had 48 strikeouts over a total of 55 1/3 innings pitched.

He then moved to Japan and South Korea, improving his pitching and developing a kick change-up.

Ponce had a 17-1 record over 29 starts with Hanwha in 2025, with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts to earn the KBO’s most valuable player award. He agreed to a three-year, $30-million US deal with Toronto on Dec. 10.

Ponce struck out three, allowing the one run on a walk and a hit in 2 1/3 innings Monday. Schneider said Ponce was meeting off-season expectations in his brief appearance before the injury.

“Cutter, slider was really good. Fastball had good life. The change was where it should be,” said Schneider. “I think he was adjusting to bring it up in the zone a little bit more, to carry the zone a little bit more as he was going.

“It was a lot of swing and miss against a really aggressive swinging team tonight. We liked what we saw, it’s just unfortunate that the outing was cut short.”

Relievers Louis Varland, Spencer Miles, Brendon Little and Tyler Rogers as well as backup catcher Tyler Heineman followed Ponce to the mound. Varland (0-1) took the loss, giving up a run in his 1 1/3 innings.

Ponce’s absence will create serious depth issues for the Blue Jays’ rotation.

Fellow starters Shane Bieber (forearm fatigue), Jose Berrios (stress fracture, right elbow) and Trey Yesavage (right shoulder impingement) are all already on Toronto’s injured list.

“Going back, like a month-and-a-half ago, you talk about our starting depth, and you can never have enough,” said Schneider. “You never know what you’re going to face and there’s always going to be challenges that you think you’re ready for and then something else pops up.”