After another harrowing injury, Brennen Davis' time with the Cubs may be near an end

There's no questioning Brennen Davis' skillset. He's shown what he's capable of when he's been on the field during his pro career. The problem is he's on the field about as much as Anthony Rendon and after suffering a season-ending ankle fracture, I can't help but wonder if his 40-man roster spot with the Chicago Cubs is in real jeopardy.

In a classy bit of roster-juggling, the Cubs selected Davis' contract following the injury, immediately placing him on the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man spot. That allowed Jed Hoyer to claim right-hander Jimmy Herget, immediately optioning him to Triple-A Iowa. But when the season ends, they'll have to decide whether or not Davis fits in the organization's plans because they're facing a 40-man crunch.

A number of prospects, including Owen Caissie, Ed Howard, Ben Leeper and many others, are Rule 5-eligible this winter, meaning the Cubs will have to add them to the 40-man or risk losing them to other clubs. Given Davis' checkered injury history, we're at the point in the road where it's near-impossible to justify rostering him and expecting any sort of full-season production.

Davis carries an .840 OPS this year between High-A and Triple-A, but a .220 batting average leaves plenty to be desired. The bigger problem is that he played in just 55 games and hasn't appeared in 100 games in a single season since 2021.

The list of injuries is extensive and have been nearly nonstop since 2022: back issues, surgery to repair core muscles, a back fracture and now, a fractured ankle. It's not just the injuries alone that could end his run with the team that took him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft; it's the larger prospect picture.

We've talked at length about the Cubs' crowded big league outfield - and several up-and-coming prospects could force their way into that picture, including Caissie, Kevin Alcantara and James Triantos (the latter of whom is a utilityman who primarily plays second).

The shine has wore off Davis, who barely snuck back onto MLB Pipeline's Cubs organizational prospect rankings earlier this year. Maybe this is the last of the injuries and he'll turn a corner, but I don't see that happening in Chicago.