Astros Break News to Former Starter He Won’t Make Opening Day Roster

The Houston Astros have a wealth of starting pitching options, which was a luxury they did not have last season. One of those pieces is going to start the season in the minor leagues.

As reported by MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, the Astros have informed former starting pitcher J.P. France that he will not make the opening day roster. Houston is getting set to break camp and head back to Houston for a pair of exhibition games with their Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land beginning on Monday.

France will leave camp with the team and head back to Houston, which means he'll most likely be assigned to Sugar Land for the start of the season.

It positions him to be depth as either a starter or a long reliever this season.

J.P. France’s Long Offseason

Houston Astros pitcher J.P. France poses for a photo by holding a baseball with his right hand. — Houston Astros pitcher J.P. France. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

France had a nice camp for the Astros. He went 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five appearances, but just one start. He struck out 13, walked three and allowed batters to hit just .195 against him in 11.2 innings. He proved himself as an effective long reliever, but the Astros are more interested in finding set up men to help them early this season with injuries to Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa.

Plus, Houston has a range of options at starting pitcher, which removed France from consideration.

It’s been a long road back for France, who made his MLB debut in 2023. He suffered a shoulder injury one month into the 2024 season, was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land and went on the injured list. He had surgery to repair a torn right shoulder capsule, an injury and surgery that required a year of rehab. It was a grind.

He returned late in 2025 and pitched in relief in two games, going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA. But he isn’t on the 40-man roster right now because he was designated for assignment in January to make room for pitcher Kai-Wei Teng in a trade. He went through waivers and no one claimed him. The Astros could have waived him but didn’t. France had no choice but to accept the assignment to Sugar Land.

For now, he’ll continue to work toward a potential return to the Majors. It may come if the Astros have injuries in their starting rotation, which will begin with six pitchers. AL Cy Young finalist Hunter Brown will start opening day. The rest of the rotation is shaping up to be Tatsuya Imai, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Burrows and Ryan Weiss. Houston can use Spencer Arrighetti as a long reliever in the short term.

France helped to rescue a battered Houston rotation when he made his Major League debut in 2023. The right-hander went 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA, as he struck out 101 and walked 47 in 136.1 innings.