Desperate for starting pitching, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays acquired Gooden, a 35-year-old right-hander, from the Houston Astros for cash Thursday.

Now, they'll find out if he can help them out of a tough situation.

	Gooden

Gooden, who grew up in Tampa and lives in St. Petersburg during the offseason, will join the Devil Rays on Saturday and start that day's game at Detroit. He made one start for Houston this season, but was not involved in the decision April 8 after allowing four runs and six hits in four innings against Philadelphia.

"He wasn't going to get the starts in Houston, and with our woes he'll get some work here," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "He brings experience and stability. And late in his career, what better place for him than here."

A four-time All-Star, Gooden has won 188 games and amassed 2,239 strikeouts over 15 seasons with the Mets, Yankees, Indians and Astros. He was the NL rookie of the year in 1984, won the Cy Young Award at age 20 the following year and pitched a no hitter for the Yankees against Seattle on May 14, 1996.

"I haven't seen him since he pitched one time against us last year," Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. "You know the great career he had and everything. We'll just see where he is."

Scott Elarton, recovering from rotator cuff surgery, will take the spot Gooden vacated in Houston's rotation. The Astros signed Gooden to a minor league contract Jan. 6, and he made the major league roster after going 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in seven games in spring training.

The Astros also activated outfielder Matt Mieske off the 15-day disabled list.

Tampa Bay was one of the teams Gooden talked to before signing with the Astros. But LaMar said he didn't want to bring Gooden back home if he didn't have a chance to be a starter.

But with Juan Guzman and Wilson Alvarez, the club's top two starting pitchers, on the disabled list with sore shoulders, plus the rest of the rotation struggling, the climate has changed.

"I tried to get it to work this winter. Unfortunately it didn't," Gooden said. "But now I'm going to get the opportunity to come home and I'm thrilled. They're going to give me a chance to pitch every fifth day. That's all I can ask for."

LaMar is eager to find out how much Gooden has left.

"He's had some ups and downs over the last couple of years on the mound," LaMar said. "If he's going to put it together at the end of his career, I couldn't think of a better place to do it."