Yankees' offseason steal from Cubs system has finally arrived down on the farm

They might keep things hush-hush at the minor-league level, but it didn't take a detective — or a passive Cubs fan tripping into Yankees territory — to figure out that Brennen Davis started the season battling something. After all, the sad reality of Davis' post-2021 Futures Game Cubs career is that he was a tantalizing talent who was always battling something, which resulted in his offseason departure from Chicago's system.

All of Davis' maladies could be described as varying degrees of freakish, but they might've culminated with the worst of all, when a cart came out to relieve him from a fractured ankle last September.

From the time he joined the Yankees organization in late December to, well, literally this week, Davis' journey has been shrouded in mystery, and his path has presumably been affected by that ankle. He recently told Somerset's Steven Cusumano about his time as an invitee to big-league spring training with the Yankees in February, but he did not receive a plate appearance. Instead, he flitted through like a ghost.

He did not break camp with a minor-league club, either, and the Yankees did what they usually do when a prospect falls through the cracks: absolutely nothing. No whispers. No word.

Until Davis made his Florida Complex League debut on May 8, his first official game with the organization. The very next day, he stomped the door down, drilling his first home run of three at the level. He exited this out-of-the-spotlight rehab after an eventful week of hitting .474, then found his way to Double-A Somerset — again, out of seemingly nowhere — on May 23, where he also homered in New Hampshire.

Brennen Davis, the lithe and powerful outfielder who made Baseball America's preseason top 100 lists annually from 2020 to 2023 — ranking as highly as No. 16 in 2022 — may never return in full force. But Brennen Davis the Yankee is officially back, and he has a chance to make a name for himself once again.

Former Cubs prospect Brennen Davis resurfaces with Yankees, and he's raking already

And, just like that, the Yankees might have both a Brennen and a Brendan rising from the dead in their minor-league system, one on each side of the ball.

Rooting for Davis' well-being transcends fandom, and he's certainly got Chicago in his corner as he restarts his journey with the Yankees. We may have lost track of him after a busy winter of Soto-related pouting, but after lurking in the shadows, Davis seems to be working hard to make sure that doesn't happen again.