J.P.

France

France was sent down Saturday after giving up four runs over 2 2/3 innings in his one relief appearance for the Astros. He’ll be available in middle relief for now, but this might be another brief major league stint.

France was awful Friday, allowing four runs in 2 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old will head back to the minors with Jayden Murray up to provide a fresh arm. France will likely be back in a low-leverage role at some point.

It’s unclear if France is just up as an emergency option to add length to the Astros’ bullpen, or if he’ll fill one of the spots in the team’s rotation that have been vacated by the injuries to Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier. France has posted a 4.35 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 128/61 K/BB ratio over 165 2/3 innings with the Astros over the last three seasons.

Hunter Brown (shoulder) is out for at least a month, and Cristian Javier left his start yesterday with an injury, so the Astros need to fill innings in their rotation. France has been pitching in a multi-inning role in Triple-A, so it’s unclear if he would move into the rotation or perhaps keep his bullpen role, which would allow Ryan Weiss to enter the rotation. Weiss looked good in spring training and could be an interesting name in fantasy leagues if he gets a chance to start.

France did not make the Astros as a starter and is now working to establish himself as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. His fastball velocity was in line with what we saw last year, and he pounded the strike zone for 77 percent strikes while registering a 42 percent whiff rate. He’ll likely see some MLB innings in some capacity this season.

He also struck out four and walked none while registering a 26 percent whiff rate and throwing 75 percent strikes overall. France was waived and remained with the Astros, so he will start the season in Triple-A and give them an option should injuries crop up during the year.

We assumed France’s potential ability to eat innings at a minimum salary would make him attractive to non-contenders, especially since he has an option year left, but obviously no one thinks he’s a very good bet going forward after he returned from shoulder surgery last summer. He’ll stick with the Astros and head to camp as a non-roster player.

France did great work as a 28-year-old rookie for the Astros in 2023, going 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA, but he lasted just five starts in 2024 before requiring shoulder surgery and he struggled with his command after returning last summer, pitching just four innings in the majors. He’s making the minimum and he has an option year left, so he should have suitors, even if he doesn’t offer much upside.

For the Giants, this is about freeing up a spot on the 40-man to make room for Harrison Bader, and in return, they’ll get a 21-year-old catcher. The Astros will DFA J.P. France to make room for Teng.

France will operate as a multi-inning reliever out of Houston’s bullpen for the final two weeks of the season. The 30-year-old righty hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since last summer due to shoulder surgery.