Phillies Notes: Phillies say Howard won't be ready Tuesday

NEW YORK - The Phillies and Ryan Howard have remained optimistic about a quick return. There is daily progress in his recovery from a sprained left ankle.

But discouraging signs linger - such as when Charlie Manuel watched Howard limp off the bus at the team hotel late Saturday.

So on Sunday, for the first time, the Phillies publicly acknowledged that Howard will not return Tuesday, the first day he is eligible to come off the disabled list.

"He's making progress, but I don't think we're looking at Tuesday as the day he's going to come back," assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said. "I would imagine he probably needs to go on some type of rehab. And at this point, he's not even ready to do that."

Howard had his ankle heavily taped Sunday. He was scheduled to do more running and sharp movements on the field before Sunday's game in New York, but the bad weather disrupted that. The first baseman did take swings in the cage.

The problems arise when Howard is inactive after workouts, Manuel said.

"He was doing fine. Then when he sits down, it can get sore," Manuel said

Still, the swelling in the ankle has decreased considerably.

"Our trainer thinks Howard is doing real well," Manuel said. "At the same time, he thinks Tuesday or Wednesday could be a reach. We'll just have to wait and see."

Proefrock said he expected Howard to go on some sort of a rehab assignment. On Saturday, Howard said he didn't necessarily need to go to the minors to be ready to play.

Manuel did not disagree.

"That's reasonable," he said. "Ryan's mental thinking toward hitting, he's never really had to hit a lot. He likes to take BP, but he doesn't take a lot of extra hitting."

Greg Dobbs made his first start at first base in more than a year Sunday against the Mets. He had played only five innings at first in 2010, but Mike Sweeney has struggled of late, and Ross Gload (right groin strain) is still hurting.

"I don't know if he can hit and run to first base yet," Manuel said. "He's getting there."

The team expects Gload to be healthy when the homestand begins Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants, and there hasn't been any talk of placing him on the disabled list.

"Every indication is he should be ready," Proefrock said.

If Chase Utley returns Tuesday as expected, Wilson Valdez will go back to the bench. Valdez, who signed a minor-league deal in the off-season, has played in a career-high 82 games this season.

His offensive numbers are far from astounding, but Valdez brought a degree of stability to the position in Utley's absence.

Entering Sunday, Valdez had a .250 average in 252 at-bats and a .645 OPS. He also had hit into 15 double plays.

"Defensively, he's been real good," Manuel said. "From an offensive standpoint, sometimes he's not used to playing as much as he has, and he gets worn down. He needs a blow sometimes. But, yeah, he did very well."

Righthander Kyle Kendrick hit into the second 9-3 out by a Phillies pitcher this season in the third inning. Roy Oswalt did it in his Phillies debut July 30. . . . The Phillies have Monday off. Their next off day is Sept. 9. By then, barring a rainout, they will have played 24 games in 23 days. . . . The Giants will start two lefthanders, Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez, in the three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. . . . The Phillies were close to an agreement Sunday night with Brian Pointer, their 28th-round pick in June's draft, said Marti Wolever, the team's director of scouting. Pointer, a high school outfielder from Reno, Nev., dropped deep into the draft because of signability issues. He committed to Oregon State, but the Phillies are expected to go well over the recommended slot money to sign Pointer. The deadline to sign draft picks is midnight Monday.