Blue Jays Move Cody Ponce to Injured List After Exiting First Start
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The Toronto Blue Jays have been plagued early on with injuries, specifically the starting rotation. It isn't even a week into the season, and the Jays are down Jose Berrios, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and now, Cody Ponce.
Ponce was the easiest comeback to bet on in 2026 as he hadn't thrown a pitch in the majors in nearly half a decade. However, Ponce went down trying to field a ground ball in his debut and had to be carted off the field against the Colorado Rockies.
He had such a strong start to this game, highlighted by an 11-pitch first inning where he retired 2025 Silver Slugger Award winner, Hunter Goodman. Unfortunately, Ponce wouldn't finish his first game since 2021, as the MRI showed that he has at least a sprained ACL. The Blue Jays moved him to the 15-day injured list shortly after revealing the diagnosis. Lazaro Estrada was called up from Triple-A Buffalo.
There was plenty of hope regarding what this meant for both Ponce and the pitching staff, but watching him go down was truly hard to watch. It looked like a non-contact football injury that has ruined careers.
A sprained ACL would definitely be best case scenario at this point, because if there is a tear involved then he will definitely have to have at least one surgery that would likely put an end to his season.
Injuries Killing Blue Jays Starting Rotation
The hole in the 2025 Jays' roster was definitely its pitching staff. So, what did the front office do? Upgrade the starting rotation, while also adding one of the best relievers in the game to the bullpen, Tyler Rogers.
Toronto picked up Ponce after he finished 2025 as the KBO MVP with a record-setting performance, but his injury is just one of four that are currently demolishing the rotation.
- Jose Berrios- Stress Fracture
- Trey Yesavage- Shoulder Impingement
- Shane Bieber- Elbow Inflammation/ Forearm Fatigue
- Cody Ponce- Sprained ACL
Luckily, the Jays signed Max Scherzer at the last minute, or who knows what this rotation would currently look like. Their No.1 and No. 2 (Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease) looked nearly unstoppable in their first starts. But Toronto needs a lot of help right now.
It seems more than safe to say that the Blue Jays are bleeding right now with their rotation. It would be less than shocking if management decides to trade for another starter at this point, because they already couldn't afford to lose another pitcher, but here we are.
Ponce's comeback tour has officially been derailed but hopefully it isn't something he cannot come back from
Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.