Toronto. — Right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce had a bitter return to the Major Leagues after being injured during his first start since 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays, in a game played at the Rogers Centre.
The pitcher had to leave the game in the third inning after getting injured while running towards first base to try to field a ground ball hit by Jake McCarthy of the Rockies. During the play, the pitcher felt pain in his right leg and fell to the ground, so he was immediately attended to by the team’s medical staff.
Minutes later, the Blue Jays reported that the initial diagnosis is a right knee issue, although the player will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the injury.
The scene proved especially difficult for Ponce, who was returning to the mound in the Majors after a long process outside of Major League Baseball. The right-hander spent three seasons in Japan and one in Korea, where he reinvented his career as a pitcher.
Cody Ponce had to be carted off in his Blue Jays debut after collapsing trying to field a ground ball pic.twitter.com/FO0YUfYlZz
His great performance in 2025 in the Korean league (KBO), where he recorded an ERA of 1.89 with 252 strikeouts in 180.2 innings, earned him a three-year, $30 million contract with Toronto, an organization that bet on his return to MLB.
Now, the Blue Jays and the pitcher himself await medical results to learn the extent of the injury and how long he could be out of action.
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The pitcher had to leave the game in the third inning after getting injured while running towards first base to try to field a ground ball hit by Jake McCarthy of the Rockies. During the play, the pitcher felt pain in his right leg and fell to the ground, so he was immediately attended to by the team’s medical staff.
Minutes later, the Blue Jays reported that the initial diagnosis is a right knee issue, although the player will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the injury.
The scene proved especially difficult for Ponce, who was returning to the mound in the Majors after a long process outside of Major League Baseball. The right-hander spent three seasons in Japan and one in Korea, where he reinvented his career as a pitcher.
