Trevor Hoffman 2009

It seems like a lot of people have written Trevor Hoffman off because of his age (41), lack of a team, and the fact that his ERA was much higher in 2008 than previous years. I think they're making a big mistake. Hoffman is likely to sign with a team, and judging by the reports of the Dodgers making him a one year $4.5m offer, he may get a chance to close ahead of Jonathan Broxton. On one hand, this is a shame...Broxton is ready to be a top notch closer. On the other hand, Hoffman should still be able to get the job done. In fact, despite the higher ERA, he had his best season since 2004 in ALL of the major component statistics, as he struck out 9.9 per nine innings, walked only 1.8, and had a 39.0% ground ball rate. He seems to be improving with age, and may be a bargain in most leagues on draft day.