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15 articles
TOR •
about 21 hours ago
Ponce is expected to be a full-go at the outset of spring training. The 31-year-old starter suffered the knee injury while attempting to field a ground ball during his Blue Jays debut back in late March.
Source: Mitch Bannon
TOR •
12 days ago
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Ponce will be out for at least six months, which effectively ends his season. The 31-year-old suffered an ACL sprain in his right knee during his season debut against the Rockies last week. It was his first start in the big leagues since 2021. The 31-year-old’s extended absence creates even more issues for Toronto’s rotation, which has been decimated by injuries this season.
Source: Ben Nicholson-Smith
TOR •
14 days ago
The Blue Jays have yet to announce whether or not Ponce will require surgery to repair his ACL, it’s clear that he’s going to miss a substantial amount of time either way, so him moving to the 60-day injured list was an inevitability. Austin Voth was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to take his place on the team’s roster.
TOR •
18 days ago
While Dr. ElAttrache is mostly connected to Tommy John surgery, he is an orthopedic surgeon who sees players for all kinds of injuries. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Dr. ElAttrache wanted to “get his hands on [Ponce], and decide what route to take. Surgery is on the table.” This is not the best development, but we will have to wait until next week to know what the outlook is for Ponce.
Source: Hazel Mae
TOR •
19 days ago
Ponce is headed to the injured list with Lazaro Estrada coming up to take his roster spot. Schneider added that Ponce is facing an extended absence, but the club remains hopeful he’ll pitch again this season and will await additional medical opinions before determining next steps. The 31-year-old journeyman left his Blue Jays debut on Monday night with right knee discomfort. His prolonged absence puts additional strain on Toronto’s rotation which is already without Trey Yesavage (shoulder), Shane Bieber (elbow) and José Berríos (elbow).
Source: Shi Davidi
TOR •
19 days ago
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Ponce will miss significant time, but the club remains hopeful he’ll pitch again this season and will await additional medical opinions before determining his next steps. The 31-year-old journeyman left his Blue Jays debut on Monday night with right knee discomfort before an MRI revealed an ACL sprain in his right knee. His prolonged absence puts additional strain on Toronto’s rotation which is already without Trey Yesavage (shoulder), Shane Bieber (elbow) and José Berríos (elbow).
TOR •
19 days ago
Ponce is headed to the injured list with Lazaro Estrada coming up to take his roster spot. Schneider added that Ponce is facing an extended absence, but the club remains hopeful he’ll pitch again this season and will await additional medical opinions before determining next steps. The 31-year-old journeyman left his Blue Jays debut on Monday night with right knee discomfort. His prolonged absence puts additional strain on Toronto’s rotation which is already without Trey Yesavage (shoulder), Shane Bieber (elbow) and José Berríos (elbow).
Source: Shi Davidi
TOR •
19 days ago
He’ll undergo further evaluation and imaging to determine the severity of the injury. It’s an ominous injury designation after Ponce was carted off during his Blue Jays debut following an awkward attempt to field a grounder up the first-base line in the third inning of his first major-league appearance since 2021. The 31-year-old journeyman spent the previous four seasons overhauling his arsenal in Korea and Japan before returning stateside on a three-year, $30 million deal with Toronto. An extended absence would be a significant blow to an already injury-ravaged rotation that’s without Trey Yesavage (shoulder), Shane Bieber (elbow) and José Berríos (elbow). An update on his status should arrive in the coming days, but he’s in clear jeopardy of missing his next scheduled start against the White Sox on Sunday.
Source: Toronto Blue Jays
TOR •
19 days ago
It’s potentially a brutal development for Toronto’s already injury-depleted rotation if Ponce is facing an extended absence. This one didn’t look good. The 31-year-old righty pulled up while running to field a ground ball up the first-base line and ultimately had to be carted off the field. He exited his first major-league appearance since 2021 after allowing one run over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three and issued one walk. There should be a definitive update on his status following the contest.
Source: Keegan Matheson
TOR •
about 1 month ago
The Yankees brought just three likely major leaguers with them, two of whom (Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk) would typically only play against lefties. Ponce had an easy time with the group, even though his velocity fell off some today; he averaged 94.5 mph with his fastball, down from 96.0 in his previous four spring outings. Ponce’s rotation spot in Toronto could eventually come into jeopardy if they ever have all of their seven starters healthy at once. We like him in mixed leagues until then, though.
TOR •
about 1 month ago
With his pitch count up, Ponce was lifted with the bases loaded and two out in the first. Michael Plassmeyer then retired Ryan Kreidler. Ponce came back out for the second and walked two more in a scoreless frame. In the third, he retired Brooks Lee and gave up a double to Matt Wallner before being lifted again. In all, Ponce threw 31 of his 59 pitches for strikes. The bullpen then followed his lead the rest of the way, and the Jays won the game 6-1 despite walking 10 batters in all.
TOR •
about 1 month ago
Ponce struck out just one, but of the eight balls in play against him, only one was hard hit. We’re a little nervous to recommend Ponce this season, just because the Jays now possess seven starters and Ponce had no real MLB track record before his success in Asia. Still, we imagine he’ll offer some mixed-league value if he gets the chance to make 30 starts.
TOR •
about 2 months ago
Not a great day for Ponce, who had more hard-hit balls allowed (six) than called strikes (one) and whiffs (four) in the 32-pitch outing. We like Ponce as a late-round pick in mixed leagues, but his margin for error for sticking in Toronto’s rotation for the long haul has gotten smaller with the Max Scherzer signing. He should be in there initially, at least.
TOR •
about 2 months ago
It was to be expected, but it’s still fun to see Ponce’s velocities all up 3-5 mph from his Statcast “yearly average.” For him, that yearly average is from 2021, when he averaged 93.2 mph with his fastball in 15 appearances for the Blue Jays. He turned into a mid-90s guy in Japan, and he averaged 96.0 mph on his 10 fastballs today.
TOR •
4 months ago
The deal, agreed to nine days ago, is now official. It sounds like Ponce is pretty much guaranteed a rotation spot, which could get awkward unless José Berríos is traded. The former Brewers prospect is coming off one of the best seasons in KBO history, having gone 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA and a 252/41 K/BB in 180 2/3 innings for Hanwha. In a nice situation in Toronto, he’ll be worth trying late in mixed-league drafts.