{"id":660558,"date":"2026-04-03T09:23:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660558\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T09:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:23:38","slug":"blue-jays-urged-to-sign-ex-red-sox-pitcher-to-replace-ponce-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660558\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Urged to Sign Ex-Red Sox Pitcher to Replace Ponce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775208218_714_GettyImages-2268622610_2abbfa-e1775086432398.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Toronto Blue Jays\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Blue Jays urged to sign a pitcher to replace Lucas Golito.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Toronto Blue Jays\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/toronto-blue-jays\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211836\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> could have a need in the rotation following the injury to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/cody-ponce\/\" title=\"Cody Ponce\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212155\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cody Ponce<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Jays entered spring training wth a surplus of starting pitchers. Yet Trey Yesavage, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/shane-bieber\/\" title=\"Shane Bieber\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212153\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shane Bieber<\/a>, and Jose Berrios began the year on the IL. Then, in Ponce\u2019s first start with the Blue Jays, he suffered a knee injury. He\u2019s now set to travel to California to see if he needs surgery, which could end his season.<\/p>\n<p>So, with the Blue Jays needing another arm, MLB analyst Zachary Rotman of FanSided urges the team to sign former <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Boston Red Sox\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/boston-red-sox\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"211835\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Boston Red Sox<\/a> pitcher Lucas Giolito.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEasily the\u00a0most appealing free agent left is Lucas Giolito, who Jays fans know well given the fact that he spent the 2025 season in the AL East with the Boston Red Sox,\u201d Rotman <a href=\"https:\/\/fansided.com\/mlb\/cody-ponce-s-injury-leaves-the-blue-jays-with-an-all-too-obvious-replacement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cGiolito was an instrumental piece for Boston, posting a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts and 145 innings of work.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">\u201cHis advanced metrics weren\u2019t nearly as good as the ERA would indicate, but the Jays don\u2019t need him to be a savior of any sort. Ensuring they have a reliable back-end arm who can soak up some innings is what\u2019s most important, and Giolito, even at his worst, can do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Golito could be a solid No. 5 starter for the Blue Jays, and it would also allow Toronto not to have to rush Bieber, Berrios, or Yesavage back quicker than expected to fill the void.<\/p>\n<p>Then, once all the starters are healthy, Giolito could easily slide to the bullpen and be a multi-inning reliever, which is something Toronto is lacking out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n<p>Giolito <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/lucas-giolito-608337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts<\/a> with the Red Sox last season.<\/p>\n<p>Ponce May Need Surgery<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Jays handed Ponce a three-year, $30 million deal this offseason after pitching in Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n<p>Ponce was expected to be an important part of the rotation. However, in his first start, he suffered a knee injury that could end his season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI talked to him for a while last night, up until about 1 in the morning,\u201d manager John Schneider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/cody-ponce-acl-sprain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">said<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s got a pretty good perspective. He\u2019s frustrated, for sure, but I think he has a good perspective on it. The person in me just hates it for him. His first outing, weird play, all of that. But he\u2019s handling it okay. He was in here with his brother-in-law today, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/george-kittle\/\" title=\"George Kittle\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212157\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Kittle<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Jays insider Hazel Mae, meanwhile, reported that Ponce <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/toronto-blue-jays\/cody-ponce-update-neal-elattrache\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is set to visit<\/a> Dr. Neal ElAttrache (orthopedic surgeon) on Monday in Los Angeles, where it could be determined that he needs surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s (Elattrache) reviewed all the MRI\u2019s.. I think to see him (Ponce) in person.. get his hands on him, and decide what route to take. Surgery is on the table,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n<p>What Pitching Depth Does Toronto Have?<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Jays rotation currently features <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/kevin-gausman\/\" title=\"Kevin Gausman\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212154\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Gausman<\/a>, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, and Max Scherzer, so the team is expected to add a fifth starter.<\/p>\n<p>However, due to an off-day on Thursday, Toronto could delay that for a bit longer. In Triple-A, the Blue Jays have Grant Rogers, Chad Dallas, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/adam-macko\/\" title=\"Adam Macko\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212152\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Adam Macko<\/a>, and Yariel Rodriguez as bulk options. The team already recalled <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/lazaro-estrada\/\" title=\"Lazaro Estrada\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212156\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lazaro Estrada<\/a>, who can give them multiple innings.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Blue Jays are lacking pitchers with <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/\" title=\"MLB\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"212159\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB<\/a> experience, which is why Toronto could look outside the organization to replace Ponce.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/coleshelton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cole Shelton<\/a> Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/coleshelton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Cole Shelton<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Blue Jays\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Blue Jays urged to sign a pitcher to replace Lucas Golito. The Toronto Blue Jays could have&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2378],"tags":[5,377,2554,4,282,70,2553],"class_list":{"0":"post-660558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-blue-jays","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-bluejays","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","14":"tag-torontobluejays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116340057516162015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}