Padres Sign J.P. France To Minor League Deal

The Padres have brought in right-hander J.P. France on a minor league deal, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. France was released from the Astros’ system on Thursday, having spent the past three months on an outright assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land. The Klutch Sports client will report to the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso.

France only made it into three games for the Astros in April before getting designated for assignment. He allowed six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings while surrendering five walks and only striking out four. He’s fared better in the minors this year, but not by much. In 36 1/3 innings for Sugar Land, France had a 3.72 ERA and an above-average 23.1% strikeout rate. However, he was also walking 14.8% of opponents and running a high 83.1% strand rate that figures to regress over time. The righty’s 6.90 expected ERA and 6.00 xFIP suggest he was very lucky to achieve that 3.72 ERA.

France has a 4.49 ERA in 172 1/3 career innings in the majors, though the overwhelming majority of those came in 2023. Since the start of 2024, he has an even 7.00 ERA in 36 innings. At this stage, he’s purely a depth option for the Padres. The team has one of the better bullpens in the league thanks to dominant performances by closer Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon in a setup role. With San Diego only one game out of a Wild Card spot, and with A.J. Preller still running their front office, the team is hard to classify as a firm buyer or seller. They seem to like their chances of making the postseason, and they’ve accordingly set high prices on Miller and Morejon in trade talks.

Behind those two big names, the Padres’ bullpen also features righties Bradgley Rodriguez and Jeremiah Estrada, plus Randy Vásquez as a long relief option. Rodriguez has a 2.28 ERA in 47 1/3 innings and will hold his spot, barring a surprise trade. Estrada is striking out 30.0% of opponents and only stranding 62.0% of them. He’s probably better than his 4.09 ERA would indicate. France probably can’t compete with those two, and Vásquez hasn’t been optioned to Triple-A in almost a year. More than likely, France will bide his time in El Paso and await a call-up if one of the other arms gets injured.