Cody Ponce had to be carted off the field Monday in Toronto, spoiling his first Major League Baseball appearance since 2021.
Ponce tried to field a short ground ball off the mound in the third inning of the Blue Jays’ 14-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Monday at Rogers Centre. But as Ponce started to field the ball, which was hit by Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, he suddenly pulled up and started hopping, clearly in a lot of pain.
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Ponce’s right leg buckled awkwardly as he was trying to retrieve the ball, and he eventually fell down in the infield dirt as McCarthy made it to first. Kyle Karros scored for the Rockies during the sequence, putting them up 1-0 at the time. The Rockies went on to win 14-5.
Ponce remained down for quite some time while the team’s medical staff tended to him. He was eventually carted off and did not return.
Specifics of his injury are not yet known. The Blue Jays said he was removed from the game due to “right knee discomfort.”
Ponce returned to MLB this season after spending the past three campaigns in Asia. He posted a 1.89 ERA with 252 strikeouts last season with the Hanwha Eagles in Korea, which led to him inking a three-year, $30 million deal with the Blue Jays. Ponce posted a Triple Crown, won KBO MVP honors and led Hanwha to the Korean Series.
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Monday marked his first start of the 2026 season and his first MLB appearance since the 2021 campaign, when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Rockies, who entered Monday night having lost their first three games of the season, put up seven runs in the sixth inning alone to secure the blowout win.
The Blue Jays fell to 3-1 with the loss, which came after they swept the Athletics in their first series of the season.