The Baltimore Orioles have had a winning streak of three seasons with two playoff appearances and an AL East Division crown but so far have dropped out of the postseason race. The Orioles currently have a 49 percent winning percentage, 12.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and five and a half games back for the final AL Wildcard spot, per MLB.

Losing games is not the only problem Baltimore is facing but the prospect of losing three key players this offseason namely catcher Matt Wieters, starter Wei-Yin Chen and first baseman Chris Davis, who are all set to be free agents this offseason as the Orioles may not choose to re-sign them, as reported by The Boston Globe.

This is not the first offseason that the Orioles have a limited budget as they lost outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis to free agency last season. Owner Peter Angelos have limited the team's budget for years now and is not looking to improve it anytime soon.  

The Boston Globe also notes that the Philadelphia Phillies have sent a scout to Baltimore last week to watch the Orioles and possibly look for a trade piece for Ryan Howard as possible replacement for Chris Davis if he leaves via free agency. The reports also said that Orioles general manager Dan Duquette is not sure if Howard is a good replacement for Davis.

With their limited budget, Duquette probably won't trade for a 36-year-old strikeout-prone slugger with a $25 million salary for next season. He still has a $23 million team option for 2017 per Baseball-Reference.com.

In a report by FanSided, the Phillies are trying to get rid of all their pieces from their 2008 World Series winning team and start a new page. After the trade of Chase Utley to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Howard and Carlos Ruiz are the only two left.

As for the Orioles, Howard can fill the void of DH as he is a liability on defense even in first base. For the season, the 2006 NL MVP is batting .229 with 23 home runs and 77 RBIs, as per Baseball-Reference.com. If ever Howard lands in Baltimore, he has to fill big shoes as Davis is posting MVP-like numbers for the Orioles, batting .264 with 43 home runs and 109 RBIs, according to stats from Baseball-Reference.com

GM Dan Duquette may not have a chance this offseason as The Boston Globe also reports that he has a misunderstanding with owner Peter Angelos after he was not let go to pursue the Toronto Blue Jays team president job last year.