Because of free agency and the lack of a salary cap in baseball, players in the final year of their contract are often put on the "trading block" by many of the non-playoff contending teams. Smaller market teams will not – or cannot afford to – pay their better veteran players high salaries, so they will attempt to trade them to a postseason contender, in exchange for some minor-league prospects or other players who might be able to help them in the future.