Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown left Saturday's game with an injury that x-rays showed to be a broken hamate bone in his right hand. The usual course of action after such a break is to schedule an operation, but the Phillies didn't want to rush into anything until Brown visited with a hand specialist.

Brown saw that specialist on Monday. And Randall Culp has recommended that Brown undergo surgery, which the Phillies have scheduled for Tuesday. This was always the most probable outcome; Culp simply confirmed what everyone figured.

After the operation, Brown's expected to miss between 4-6 weeks of action, which means he's going to be on the DL at the start of the season. And after he's healthy, the Phillies may choose to send him on a brief AAA rehab so that he can face some live pitching and work himself up to speed. Until Brown's able to come back, the Phillies will likely go with Ben Francisco in right field. The right-handed Francisco has a career .775 OPS.