Forgotten lifeline after rotation injuries shows how desperate Astros truly are

The Houston Astros are quickly finding out that "staying healthy" is a terrible mantra to have for a season. Surprisingly, the Astros jumped out to a hot start, but they have since lost four straight games, and suddenly dealing with injuries to Hunter Brown, Jake Meyers, and Cristian Javier.

Meyers and Javier were injured during the Astros' loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, and the expectation is that each will land on the IL in the coming days. With Brown already sidelined for the next several weeks, Houston's rotation depth is suddenly thin. So thin, in fact, that they are turning to a forgotten lifeline.

J.P. France, yes, he's still with the organization, is en route to Seattle to join the Astros this weekend. There's a 40-man roster spot open, so that is one less headache Houston has to deal with.

France was never a candidate to be a part of the Astros' rotation at the start of the season, so the fact that he is being used as a lifeline this early in the year speaks to the crisis that has become Houston's pitching staff.

J.P. France isn't quite the "savior" the Astros were planning to count on

France was originally a late bloomer for the Astros, making his major league debut when he was 28 years old in 2023. He posted a 3.83 ERA in a tick over 136 innings pitched, and while the underlying metrics suggested there was some luck involved, it was enough success to suggest he could become a fixture in the team's rotation.

That was before injuries wrecked his career trajectory. France has only made seven appearances for the Astros over the last two years, and by the end of last season, it felt like the organization wasn't exactly counting on him being a depth option this season. He was designated for assignment by the Astros shortly before spring training but went unclaimed and was brought back as a non-roster invite.

This week has been a reminder of how quickly things can change over the course of a 162-game season. The Astros aren't quite at rock bottom, but if they don't survive this wave of injuries, things could get ugly fast.