Why Astros Released J.P. France and Tommy Sacco Jr. from Triple-A Sugar Land

The Houston Astros made moves in their minor league system earlier this week designed for a specific purpose.

Houston Astros relief pitcher J.P. France Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Thursday, the Astros made two tough roster cuts letting go of J.P. France and Tommy Sacco Jr.  Both players were currently off the Astros 40-man roster and playing at Triple-A Sugar Land.

The reason? Even minor league rosters have to be pruned. Houston has signed its draft class and not only needs places to put them in the system but is also promoting other players as a result. That made the pair expendable.

J.P. France

France made 34 appearances and 28 starts across four seasons with the Astros. In that time, he posted a 4.49 ERA with a 1.410 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. His best year came in his first Major League season in 2023 when he made 23 starts with a 3.83 ERA posting a 1.6 WAR.  

France struggled in limited time in 2024 with a 7.46 ERA in five starts and only made two appearances in 2025, the latter due to a shoulder injury that limited his availabilty this season. His strikeout numbers lagged behind league average registering 132 in 172.1 big league innings.

This season, France came out of the bullpen twice before being sent down and removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Dustin Harris who was also eventually designated for assignment.

France’s best moment with Houston came with 2.1 scoreless innings in game two of the 2023 ALCS allowing the Astros to attempt a comeback that eventually fell one run short.

France overperformed his draft slot by making it to the Majors. He was a 14th round pick of the Astros in the 2018 Amateur draft out of Mississippi State.  Across 429.2 minor league innings, France posted a 3.94 ERA with 517 strikeouts. This season he came out of the bullpen for Sugar Land with a 3.72 ERA in the always high-scoring Pacific Coast League.

In college, France spent three plus seasons at Tulane where he missed his sophomore season with Tommy John surgery. He spent his final season at Mississippi State in Starkville which led to a selection in the MLB Draft.

Tommy Sacco Jr.

Infielder Tommy Sacco Jr., April 30, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sacco was another late round draft pick. He was selected by the Astros in the 14th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of TCU where he spent three seasons with a .885 OPS as a shortstop. In his final year in college, he played in every game hitting .355. He was named first-team All-Big 12 for his effort.

Previously, he spent a year at Yavapai College in Arizona before playing for the Horned Frogs and former Astro Kirk Saarloos. He spent time at Triple-A each of the last three seasons for the Space Cowboys. Sacco hit .216 in 443 minor league games with a .649 OPS.  It was hard for him to break through to the major leagues to an Astros team that wasn’t lacking in the infield.

With Sacco and France now absent from Sugar Land, this has paved the way for CJ Alexander and Jason Alexander to be activated off the injured list. Also, Braden Shewmake has re-signed with the Astros and was assigned to Triple-A.