The Toronto Blue Jays signed Cody Ponce this offseason with the hope that he would provide important depth in the starting rotation. Ponce, a former MVP in the Korean Baseball Organization, made his team debut on Monday. Unfortunately, the debut ended early with a very scary-looking injury.

Ponce was pitching with a runner on third in the third inning of a scoreless ball game against the Colorado Rockies. Colorado outfielder Jake McCarthy tapped a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Ponce attempted to field the ball, but appeared to injure himself in the process. He was eventually carted off the field.

No specific injury diagnosis has been released at this time. However, the Blue Jays released a brief update saying Ponce was removed with “right knee discomfort.”

The Blue Jays added a fair amount of pitching depth during the offseason. They signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year contract to help anchor the top of their rotation. Toronto saw Ponce as a mid-rotation piece who could provide valuable innings.

The 31-year-old hurler spent two years in MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates before heading overseas. He showed promise in 2020 with a 3.18 ERA, but struggled in 2021 as he was lit up for an ERA north of 7.00.

Ponce had a stop in Japan, pitching for NPB's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. However, it was his stint with the KBO's Hanwha Eagles that brought him back on MLB's radar. Ponce went 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 252 strikeouts, setting the single-game and single-season strikeout records in Korea en route to winning the KBO MVP.