3 Cubs players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed

2. Cubs fans will miss Jeimer Candelario

The Cubs took one big swing at the 2023 trade deadline, acquiring Jeimer Candelario in a deal with the Nationals in exchange for a pair of prospects. Candelario signed a one-year prove-it deal with Washington after being non-tendered by the Tigers last offseason and wound up having a huge year.

At first, the deal looked like an absolute home run for the Cubs. Candelario got off to a raging hot start in a Cubs uniform, recording 17 hits in his first 10 games and 37 at-bats with the Cubs, playing a big role in the Cubs making a late-season run at a postseason spot.

Unfortunately, his bat really slowed down from there as Candelario had just one multi-hit game in the remaining 31 games he'd appear in, and he hit .152 in September. Candelario also did miss a couple of weeks due to injury which wound up being a big loss for a Cubs team that finished one game outside of a playoff spot.

He had an uneven two months with the Cubs but third base is a bit of a weak spot right now with Patrick Wisdom and Nick Madrigal expected to get a majority of the starts there. Candelario would've been a pretty sizeable upgrade over both of them and is instead going to be competing directly against the Cubs as a member of the Reds.