Joe

Dillon

Dillon, 28, is hitting .368 with 17 home runs and an .804 slugging percentage for Triple-A Albuquerque, but he’s a converted first baseman and needs to improve his defense.

The 28-year-old Dillon’s career season never did earn him a callup, but now he’s worthy of a 40-man roster spot? He’ll probably never again hit like he did this year, when he had a .325/.400/.665 line for Albuquerque. Still, he’ll be a top candidate for a spot on next year’s bench. Wathan, who hit .302/.354/.461 while playing all over the place for Triple-A Albquerque, could be a decent 25th man.

This should have happened when the minor league season ended. At worst, Dillon is a useful pinch-hitter. He hit .360/.459/.631 in 350 AB for Albuquerque.

Dillon may get another start tonight as Cabrera is day-to-day.

Dillon never made a single start for the Marlins. He was 2-for-13 with a homer as a pinch-hitter. It’s possible that another team will want to give him a bench spot based on the .314/.410/.650 line he had for Triple-A Albuquerque before being called up last month, but he’s more likely to clear waivers.

Dillon, who was hitting .314/.410/.650 in 137 AB for Albuquerque, isn’t really much of a second baseman, but perhaps he will get a start or two at the position before Luis Castillo returns. He’s worthy of a permanent spot on the Florida bench, though it’s not all that likely he’ll have one.

Lowell was the highlight of Sportscenter after taking a foul pop-up to the face, while Dillon singled in his first at-bat. Dillon arrived at the stadium just an hour before the game from Triple-A Albuquerque, and doesn’t figure to have much fantasy value.

Even with Mike Lowell slumping and Luis Castillo hurting, Dillon has yet to get a start since being recalled. Maybe he’ll be rewarded tomorrow for his performance tonight.

Even a Jenkins benching isn’t getting Bill Hall any additional playing time. Instead, Dillon, who drove in four runs Sunday, is playing left field tonight against the Astros. That’s probably not going to last, but perhaps Dillon could replace Kevin Mench as the platoon partner for Jenks against lefties.

Fielder was suspended for accidentally bumping Wally Bell in an Aug. 12 incident. Joe Dillon will likely fill in at first base the next two days.