TORONTO — Cody Ponce may not throw another pitch again this season.

After departing Monday’s debut in the top of the third inning, the 31-year-old Ponce underwent an MRI on his injured right knee, which revealed an ACL sprain that’ll require him to miss “significant time,” Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced in his office pre-game on Tuesday.

The team is still waiting to have a few other specialists review his MRI scans before determining whether he’ll require surgery to repair the injury. But as of now, they believe he avoided a season-ending tear in his right knee.

Ponce is currently in a brace until his next steps are determined, which the Blue Jays hope to receive clarity on by Wednesday, according to Schneider. From there, they’ll figure out an ideal rehab program, either geared towards returning in 2026 or ensuring he’s 100 per cent by the start of ’27.

The 6-foot-6 starter, in the first season of a three-year, $30 million contract after returning from spending the last four campaigns in the Pacific Rim, was understandably frustrated about his situation. Given everything it took to get back to this point, how could you not be?

All it took was a fluke incident to toss him back down the mountain.

Kittle, of course, is a fantastic person to have in Ponce’s corner during an unfortunate time like this. The NFL superstar helped his brother-in-law rediscover his love for baseball when he was at his lowest. Now that he’s facing several months of recovery, even if he’s able to avoid surgery, that’ll surely be tested yet again.

For the Blue Jays, they’re now faced with a tough dilemma regarding their thinned-out rotation, which has suddenly gone from eight healthy starters down to just four in less than two months. When Ponce’s turn comes up again on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox, it’ll be up to their internal depth from Triple-A Buffalo to help guide them through this crisis.

Among that group will likely include right-hander Lazaro Estrada, whose locker was set up in the Blue Jays clubhouse prior to first pitch, and could be activated before Tuesday’s game versus the Colorado Rockies, amidst Francys Romero’s earlier report of his Triple-A recall. Schneider also mentioned CJ Van Eyk and Chad Dallas as potential bulk options.

The state of Toronto’s bullpen heading into Sunday’s finale in Chicago will be the deciding factor as to whether the club opts for a reliever-exclusive game plan to cover Ponce’s next turn. But one option they aren’t considering is moving up any of the other four starters, with three off-days coming up that could’ve potentially allowed for such a deployment.

While this leaves the Blue Jays in a tough spot, it may only last for two or three turns through the rotation, given the reinforcements that will soon arrive off the IL. Schneider declared that José Berríos (stress fracture) and Trey Yesavage (shoulder) appear to be ahead of Shane Bieber (forearm), who’ll require a full spring training-esque build-up, and likely aren’t too far away.

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