Blue Jays say RHP Cody Ponce expected to miss 'significant time' because of sprained knee ligament

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Cody Ponce is expected to miss “significant time” because of a sprained ligament in his right knee, manager John Schneider said Tuesday.

The Blue Jays put Ponce on the 15-day injured list before Tuesday's game against Colorado and recalled righty Lazaro Estrada from Triple-A Buffalo.

Toronto already has three other starting pitchers on the 15-day injured list. José Berríos and Shane Bieber both have sore elbows while Trey Yesavage is recovering from a sore shoulder.

Ponce signed a $30 million, three-year contract with the defending AL champion Blue Jays last December. He had to be carted off the field in the third inning of Monday’s 14-5 loss to Colorado, his first big league appearance since 2021, after he was injured trying to make a play on Jake McCarthy’s infield grounder.

Ponce took an awkward step after misplaying the ball, then grabbed at the back of his knee and took a few more steps before going down in pain. He was able to get to his feet but left on the cart, briefly covering his face with his cap.

Earlier in the at-bat against McCarthy, Ponce caught his foot on the mound and fell down while trying to throw a pitch.

Ponce struck out three and walked one in 2 1/3 innings before leaving the game, allowing one run and one hit. Thirty of his 47 pitches were strikes.

Ponce went 17-1 with a 1.89 ERA for the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea last season, winning the league’s MVP and the pitching triple crown.

Milwaukee's pick in the second round of the 2015 amateur draft, Ponce was dealt to Pittsburgh for right-hander Jordan Lyles ahead of the 2019 trade deadline. He went 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA over five starts and 15 relief appearances for the Pirates in 2020 and ’21, then pitched in Japan for the Pacific League’s Nippon Ham Fighters (2022-23) and the Rakuten Golden Eagles (2024).

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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Cody Ponce (66) throws to a Colorado Rockies batter in the first inning of interleague baseball game in Toronto, Monday, March 30, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Six-time All-Star J.D. Martinez is joining the New York Mets as a special assistant to baseball operations.

The 38-year-old Martinez last played in 2024 for the Mets, the final season of his 14-year career with six teams.

“Everybody saw what he meant to the team in 2024 when he first came out, not only on the field, but off the field,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Great guy in the clubhouse. He’s just super consistent, very knowledgeable and a very positive guy that’s won a World Series, being in the playoffs. I think overall, huge, huge addition. I was super excited when I found out.”

Mendoza envisions Martinez’s role as being similar to that of Carlos Beltran, another former Mets player who was hired as a special assistant to the general manager in 2023.

“Not only with the position players, but with the pitchers,” Mendoza said. “You know, there’s so much information. The value of having pitchers talking to a hall of famer in Carlos Beltran and now a guy like J.D. Martinez, in the mind and everything that they bring to the table. So that’s how we see it moving forward.”

Mendoza said talks with Martinez about the position started in spring training.

“I think it’s just like the two parties needing to come together, you know, and having J.D. to be willing to do it,” Mendoza said. “I mean, he’s having a pretty good life right now.”

Martinez batted .283 and had 331 home runs in 6,512 at-bats over 1,642 career games for Houston, Detroit, Arizona, Boston, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets.

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FILE - New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez watches his run scoring a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)