TORONTO, ON – MARCH 30: Toronto Blue Jays Starting Pitcher Cody Ponce (66) is being carted off the field after an injury during the MLB regular season game between the Colorado Rockies and the Toronto Blue Jays on March 30, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After a disappointing World Series defeat last year, the Toronto Blue Jays emerged with a clear focus for their roster in the offseason.
The team added frontline starter Dylan Cease and veteran reliever Tyler Rogers as it reinforced its pitching staff alongside returns from former Cy Young Award winners Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer.
The emphasis on pitching depth also included the addition of Cody Ponce, who had left major league baseball in 2021 after a rough season with the Pittsburgh Pirates only to reinvent himself as a professional in Asia, winning South Korea’s KBO League Most Valuable Player Award last year.
“In 2025, his whole baseball world shot into the stratosphere with unprecedented dominance. The California native finished the year with a 17-1 record, 1.80 ERA and 252 Ks, setting a KBO record by striking out 18 batters in a single game and (was) ultimately named league MVP,” Rose DiManno wrote for the Toronto Star. “The Jays certainly took notice, luring him to Toronto with a three-year, $30-million (U.S.) deal with the assumption he could transfer those kinds of numbers, or thereabouts, back to North America.”
Toronto Blue Jays’ Cody Ponce Endures Brutal Return To MLB
As a result, even among a pitching staff of exciting talent, Ponce’s debut on Monday was highly anticipated. But it did not go as he or the team would have hoped.
In his first big-league start since 2021, Ponce left the game in the third inning with a concerning knee injury. He tried to field a ball hit by Colorado Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, but his right leg buckled and he fell to the infield dirt. He was carted off the field and manager John Schneider indicated that the team was hoping for the best as he underwent further evaluation.
Toronto Blue Jays Add New Pitcher To Big-League Roster After Cody Ponce Injury
However, a personnel change made by the team shortly after the game suggested they could be anticipating an injury list stint for Ponce.
“The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled right-hander pitcher Lázaro Estrada from Buffalo, Triple-A,” Major League Baseball insider Francys Romero reported on X, formerly Twitter. “He is expected to join the team (on Tuesday). Estrada, 26, threw 2.2 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts on Friday in Triple-A Buffalo.”
Though the Blue Jays reloaded their rotation with an apparent surplus of options before the season started, their depth is already being tested. Bieber, Jose Berrios and Trey Yesavage opened the year on the injured list. If Ponce has to miss significant time, the team will need to rely on Estrada for some starts as their more proven pitchers recover.