TORONTO — Almost five years separated Cody Ponce’s last major-league start, coming with the Pittsburgh Pirates in October 2021, from Monday’s debut with the Toronto Blue Jays. But now, it’s unclear when the 31-year-old starter will make his next.

A month ago, this franchise had more starters than it knew what to do with. Just four games into the 2026 season, though, they’re already down to just four healthy starters after Ponce was carted off the field during the top of the third inning. He injured himself while attempting to field a ground ball off the bat of Jake McCarthy, collapsing to the turf in immense pain.

Ponce had tripped on the mound earlier in the third, something he also did back in spring training. But this time, when he fell a second time, he needed help getting to his feet.

Shortly after Ponce departed, the Blue Jays announced that he departed with “right knee discomfort.” Manager John Schneider revealed post-game that the right-hander was undergoing an MRI on his injured knee. It’ll be a wait-and-see until those results return.

Before Ponce left the game, he told Schneider that he felt his knee hyper-extend on the play. That prevented him from putting any weight on his right leg as he was transported onto the medical cart and down the tunnel.

It’s too early to tell where the Blue Jays go from here. They first need to receive Ponce’s diagnosis and determine if he’ll be available to make his next start. But for now, everyone’s keeping him in their thoughts and prayers, hoping to avoid a potential worst-case scenario.

If that’s where this road leads, though, it’s unclear where the journey will take us next.

Toronto’s other injured starters — José Berríos, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber — are making steady progress away from the club, but most of them are still at least a few weeks away, if not more. That takes them out of the equation to step in for Ponce, whose next scheduled start would fall on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.

It’s possible that upcoming off-days (April 3, 9, 13) could allow the Blue Jays to kick this dilemma down the road for a few weeks until the need for a fifth starter arises again. However, sacrificing extra rest for veterans such as Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer this early in the year probably isn’t very appealing.

Further complicating this problem is that there isn’t an obvious internal replacement if Ponce misses extended time. By already moving Eric Lauer back to the rotation, they’re out of easy solutions — and rather short on traditional starters at Triple-A Buffalo.

Both Adam Macko and Lazaro Estrada are potential options already on the organization’s 40-man roster, though neither is fully stretched out at this point. Right now, they’d only be able to offer bulk-type innings — likely three or four — rather than a normal starter’s workload. There’s also Chase Lee, but he’s probably in that same area after missing out on the final bullpen spot.

Someone like Chad Dallas, who started Sunday for the Bisons and isn’t on the 40-man, could potentially line up to cover Ponce’s next turn in the rotation. Other non-roster candidates, such as Grant Rogers, CJ Van Eyk or even Austin Voth (signed to a minor-league deal last week), may also be in play versus the White Sox.

In dire situations like these, many often wonder about an external addition. Perhaps this season’s versions of José Ureña or Spencer Turnbull are out there lingering in free agency. Claiming an experienced arm off waivers would be another possibility. These are the scenarios that must be considered, even with reinforcements hovering in the not-so-distant future.

After using four relievers (Louis Varland, Spencer Miles, Brendon Little, Tyler Rogers) in Monday’s blowout 14-5 loss, the most immediate concern is whether the Blue Jays have enough arms to make it through Tuesday’s game, which will be started by Scherzer. But Schneider reassured that the team is “covered for tomorrow, for sure.”

Needless to say, the stakes around Scherzer’s season debut and return to Rogers Centre just went up considerably.

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