Hovering around .500, the Baltimore Orioles are still in the thick of the American League East race as they sit just four games out of first place. A team that close to the top of a division normally goes all out at the trade deadline, but Baltimore can’t afford to do that this season.

The reason the Orioles can’t afford to do that is because they already have nine players becoming free agents this offseason. That means they can’t trade team-controlled assets in order to land a player who will also be a free agent at the deadline. This includes San Diego Padres outfielder Justin Upton, who the Orioles are reportedly interested in.

While Upton would certainly improve Baltimore’s offense and outfield, he isn’t worth it because of the price tag he would carry in a potential trade. The following are the Orioles players who will be free agents this offseason:

IF Chris Davis 

SP Wei-Yin Chen

SP Bud Norris

C Matt Wieters

RP Darren O’Day

RP Tommy Hunter

DH Steve Pearce

RP Brian Matusz

OF Nolan Reimold

With the prospect of losing many of these players this winter, the Orioles can’t be trading away their potential replacements. There’s a reason MLB teams have farm systems. When major league talent leaves, talented minor leaguers have to take their spots.

Out of the Orioles’ top four prospects, two are starting pitchers, one is a catcher and one is a first baseman. Potentially, those four could be replacing Chen, Norris, Wieters and Davis next season. That won’t be the case if they trade one or more of them to the Padres in a deal for Upton.

So often, teams get caught up in the heat of the moment at the trade deadline and make a deal that dooms them for years to come. If the Orioles deal for Upton, it will ruin their organizational depth and it will make the impending rough offseason even worse. To avoid throwing away the future, Baltimore should look for a cheaper alternative.