Astros righty J.P. France underwent surgery to repair a capsule tear in his shoulder last July. There wasn’t much initial specificity about the timeline beyond the fact that it would end his 2024. France tells Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that the procedure came with a 12-14 month recovery window.
He’s now at roughly the halfway point. France tells McTaggart that he hasn’t encountered any setbacks thus far and hopes he’ll be on track for the earlier end of the rehab window. “I feel like the way it’s going right now, hopefully I’m looking more about the 12-month mark, so that will be me [back] in July. Hopefully that’s the case,” France said. “There’s a fine line because it’s a shoulder surgery and you’re not trying to rush it back, either.” He tells McTaggart that he began a throwing program last month and will progress to working from 90 feet this week.
Even the earlier end of France’s timeline means he’s likely to be shelved until around the All-Star Break. He figures to land on the 60-day injured list if the team needs to opens a 40-man roster spot in Spring Training. In an ideal scenario, France could bolster the team’s rotation depth as they’re weighing whether to buy at the trade deadline.
France was a capable back-end starter during his 2023 rookie season. He overcame a middling 17.4% strikeout rate to post a 3.83 earned run average through 136 1/3 innings. Opponents teed off during his five starts early in the ’24 campaign. France posted a 7.46 ERA over 25 1/3 innings before Houston optioned him to Triple-A. Between that and the injury, he has dropped down the rotation depth chart.
Cristian Javier and France are locks to open the season on the IL. Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are more borderline candidates to return by Opening Day. The Astros are set to begin the year with a front four of Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti. Swingman Hayden Wesneski would probably be the fifth starter if Garcia and McCullers are unavailable. Colton Gordon and Ryan Gusto, neither of whom has pitched in the majors, are also on the 40-man roster.