The San Diego Padres made a wave of internal roster moves on Monday (Labor Day), September 7.
Some Padres fans may not have even been aware that former Astros pitcher JP France belonged to their organization, but he was quietly released, along with Jose Leclerc, from the Padres organization on Monday evening.
The Padres faced the Nationals on Monday afternoon, which came right after San Diego defeated the New York Yankees in a series this past weekend.
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Padres Release JP France from Organization
According to his transactions tracker, JP France has been released from the Padres organization.
France, 31, signed with the Padres organization in early August and lasted barely over a month in the system.
The Houston Astros, whom JP France has pitched for the last four years, released France in July.
His stint with AAA El Paso was very brief, as JP France allowed 14 runs (10 earned runs) across 10.2 IP.
MLBTR.com’s Steve Adams wrote (about the release):
“The 31-year-old has pitched 10 2/3 innings with the Friars’ top affiliate in El Paso but been rocked for 10 runs on 19 hits and eight walks with nine strikeouts in that time. The Padres were in need of more pitching depth at the time of his signing but followed with deadline-day acquisitions of veteran starters Robbie Ray and Casey Mize. The Padres also welcomed Nick Pivetta back from the injured list this weekend, further strengthening their staff.”
JP France had a strong rookie campaign in 2023 with the Houston Astros, but has been unable to replicate any of that success since.
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Inside JP France’s MLB Career
The Houston Astros drafted JP France in the 2018 MLB draft, and he had spent his entire career with the organization before his release.
He’s now been released by two MLB organizations this season.
France logged 136+ innings as a rookie in 2023, but has not thrown more than 25 innings in the bigs since.
He briefly pitched with the Astros in 2026, and logged 6.2 innings, but France allowed six earned runs in that sample.
For his four-year career, JP France carries an ERA of 4.49 across 172.1 total innings (132 strikeouts).
It is unclear if another organization would want to pick him up at this juncture, given the struggles in the minors with the Padres.
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San Diego Padres Quietly Released Former Astros Player From Organization