Mariners fans are falling in love with the prospect Cubs fans can't forget

Spring training is that time of year when another team's castoff can suddenly look like another team's catch. And so it is with Brennen Davis, who has Seattle Mariners fans pondering the same question that was front of mind for Chicago Cubs fans for many years: What if?

The 26-year-old is in camp with the Mariners as a non-roster invitee, and we maintain that any good news concerning him is worth taking with a grain of salt. Yet it's only getting harder to do so, as seemingly every ball he hits makes a louder sound than the last one.

Through six Cactus League games, Davis is 7-for-13 with four doubles and two home runs, plus a pair of walks. His OPS is 1.908, and neither Cubs fans nor Mariners fans are letting it all go unnoticed.

It's still fair to characterize Davis' odds of making the Mariners' Opening Day roster as long. He's an outfielder by trade, and that's where the Mariners have two everyday stars (Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena) and a high-upside platoon (Luke Raley and Victor Robles). That's what us olds call a tough nut to crack.

But as "break glass in case of emergency" minor league options go, Davis is a cut above the rest.

Brennen Davis may be smashing his way into the Mariners' plans for 2026

In case anyone isn't up to date with their Davis lore, he was a second-round pick by the Cubs in 2018 and a top prospect for years afterward. Baseball America, for example, had him as one of the team's top five talents annually between 2019 and 2023, with a peak of No. 1 in 2022.

Injuries — just… so many injuries — explain why Davis has not only struggled to find MLB stardom, but indeed has yet to even make his major league debut. He played in 100 games in the minors in 2021, but has averaged just 57 games per year since then.

His bat nonetheless remains an asset, mostly by way of his raw power. That shows in his average exit velocity this spring, which ranks first among M's hitters who have put at least nine balls in play:

1. Brennen Davis: 98.8 mph
2. Colt Emerson: 95.5 mph
3. Rob Refsnyder: 94.8 mph
4. Miles Mastrobuoni: 92.5 mph
5. Randy Arozarena: 91.1 mph

[Side note: Yeah, totally normal list.]

Even if Davis doesn't break camp with the Mariners, you don't need to strain your imagination to see how he could impact the 2026 season. Injuries are always a threat, after all, and any chance he gets could be his window to give the team the power it may well need after losing Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez over the winter.

If that's how it plays out, Mariners fans will celebrate what is while Cubs fans lament what might have been. It'll be a new experience for the former but not, unfortunately, for the latter.