MIAMI – And the (injury) hits keep on coming…

The Phillies have placed first baseman Ryan Howard on the 15-day disabled list with a moderate left ankle sprain. Howard had an MRI in Philadelphia on Tuesday that revealed two injured ligaments in the foot.

"We're hopeful to have him back in two weeks. It may be longer than that, we're not sure. It all depends on how he feels," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "The good thing is it wasn’t a severe ankle sprain. It only affected the lateral (outside) side. Not the medial (inside) side. That’s the positive news. It could have been a lot worse."

Amaro said Howard's ankle injury, suffered on the base paths in Washington on Sunday, is not as severe as the sprained ankle that kept Jimmy Rollins out of action for three weeks in the April of 2008.

The Phillies recalled outfielder John Mayberry from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Howard's roster spot. Mayberry, who played first base in college, took ground balls at Lehigh Tuesday and could be used at first base, although Ross Gload, Cody Ransom and Greg Dobbs are also options.

Howard is hitting .292 with 23 home runs and a National League-leading 81 RBI in 104 games for the Phillies this season. He is the 15th Phillies player to be placed on the disabled list this season, including all four of the team's All-Star infielders.