3 trade deadline targets the Chicago Cubs should go after

We already know the Chicago Cubs will be buyers this season at the MLB trade deadline on August 1st. Primarily, the Cubs are looking for relievers and an impact bat. We also have already learned the team's front office is interested in both Jeimer Candelario of the Washington Nationals and David Bednar, the closer, from the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the Cubs were also loosely connected to Colorado Rockies first baseman CJ Cron, and he flew off the board yesterday without much notice, serving as a reminder that the teams in MLB that are selling aren't just waiting around for the Cubs to make decisions if they get a good offer.

Therefore, the Cubs can ill afford to sit idly, thinking no one will pick up Candelario or Bednar. They must get aggressive and get their guy like these other teams do. Let's look at three players the Cubs can circle on their wishlist that they can go after should they miss on their two primary targets already discussed.

3 trade deadline targets - 3. Kyle Finnigan (Washington Nationals)

Keeping with the idea of the Washington Nationals here, Kyle Finnigan is another bullpen the Cubs can target. Given that the Cubs are interested in David Bednar and his three years of team control remaining before free agency, it appears the Cubs are willing to shell out what it takes for a player that can be part of the team's future and not just be utilized as a rental for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Finnigan still has this year and two years of arbitration before hitting the market. His numbers don't fly off the page quite as much as Bednar, but he is still posting a more than respectable 3.07 ERA in 44.0 innings of work this season. With interest already brewing in third baseman Canderlario, the Cubs could work out a deal, do all their shopping with one team, and acquire Candelario and a solid reliever in Finnigan. The Nationals are interested in acquiring prospects and rebuilding their farm, as we saw last season with the Juan Soto sweepstakes. The Nats are still in last place this year, so there's no reason to believe there won't be more of the same.