The Astros trimmed two familiar names from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, part of the ongoing roster squeeze that comes with a draft class getting signed and more players moving through the system. J.P. France and Tommy Sacco Jr. were both released, even though neither was on the 40-man roster anymore.
For France, the move closes the book on a run that turned a 14th-round pick into a big leaguer. Drafted out of Mississippi State in 2018, he got all the way to Houston and logged 34 appearances, 28 starts, and a 4.49 ERA over four seasons with the club.
He also posted a 1.410 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. His strongest stretch came in 2023, when he made 23 starts, put up a 3.83 ERA and finished with 1.6 WAR.
The last two seasons were much tougher. France struggled to a 7.46 ERA in five starts in 2024, then appeared just twice in 2025, with a shoulder injury limiting his availability.
Over 172.1 major league innings, he struck out 132, numbers that trailed league average. This year, he had already been used twice out of the bullpen before going back down and being removed from the 40-man roster to create room for Dustin Harris, who was later designated for assignment.
Still, France had his moment. His best outing with Houston came in Game 2 of the 2023 ALCS, when he delivered 2.1 scoreless innings and helped keep the Astros alive in a game they ultimately lost by one run.
His path to the majors also reflects how far he climbed from his draft position. France worked through 429.2 minor league innings with a 3.94 ERA and 517 strikeouts, and this season at Sugar Land he posted a 3.72 ERA out of the bullpen in the high-scoring Pacific Coast League. His college route was winding, too: more than three seasons at Tulane, a sophomore year lost to Tommy John surgery, and then a final season at Mississippi State that helped put him on the draft map.
Sacco’s story was different, but the end result was the same. The Astros took him in the 14th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of TCU, where he spent three seasons as a shortstop and put up a .885 OPS. In his final college season, he played every game, hit .355 and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors.
Before TCU, Sacco spent a year at Yavapai College in Arizona. He then played for the Horned Frogs under former Astro Kirk Saarloos and spent time at Triple-A in each of the last three seasons with the Space Cowboys. Across 443 minor league games, he hit .216 with a .649 OPS, and breaking through to Houston was always going to be a difficult climb on an Astros roster that already had plenty of infield depth.
With France and Sacco gone from Sugar Land, the Astros now have openings for CJ Alexander and Jason Alexander to come off the injured list. Braden Shewmake has also re-signed with the club and been assigned to Triple-A.
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