Houston Astros Acquire Pitcher John Ely from Los Angeles Dodgers

The Houston Astros are continuing to add players to their roster with big league experience.

On Wednesday, the team sent 23-year-old left-handed reliever Rob Rasmussen to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher John Ely, according to the Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports).

The 26-year-old Ely has played part of each of the last three seasons in the major leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers, albeit for only two games in 2012.

As Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times remarked, Ely's first experience in the majors was eye-popping.

Ely posted a 2.54 ERA over his first seven big league starts during the 2010 season.

He pitched 6 2/3 innings in his second start on May 6, 2010 against the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing a single run. In that same year, he pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed one run against the Cubs on May 27, and threw seven shutout innings (allowing just two hits) against the Diamondbacks on June 1.

He did so without a blazing fastball, but rather with pinpoint control.

Alas, his good fortune ran out by July 2010—his ERA shot up from 2.54 on June 1 to 5.49 on October 1.

Ely now heads to Houston, where the young team has very few spots reserved on the pitching staff.

Given a new shot, perhaps Ely can show his early few months in the majors were no fluke, and take advantage of a fresh start in Houston.