Domonic Brown out 3-6 weeks

[Whalewang]

Domonic Brown fractured his right hand and is out 3-6 weeks.

How does this affect his eligibility? I don't know the MLB rules for this.
Does he get sent to the minors immediately or does he have to wait to after he gets released off the IR to get sent down (meaning he'll start the year in the majors)?

[MaudDib]

It's up to the team. Most veteran major leaguers would put some time in the minors to get back up to speed. If I was a betting man, I would bet that Brown will be in minors for most of the year. That is unless he just tears up AAA. He wasn't exactly tearing up spring training which makes me think that the Phils will give him more time in the minors even once he gets fully healthy.

[kab21]

Since he ended the season in the MLB I think he'll have to go on the MLB DL until he's healed and then he can be optioned down. This happened several years ago to the Twins with Jason Kubel. He tore up his knee (multiple if not all) ligaments and because he was a September callup he spent one season on the MLB DL which obviously affects service time.