As KingKat says, it's possible to have desirable assets on a team that isn't competitive. Most bad teams have desirable assets. If you want to actually win games, you can't be afraid to roster older players though. Four years of Josh Donaldson (maybe 7-8 years - who knows?) does more for this team than a collection of younger, cheaper players who aren't close to as good.
I don't think you can take the position you take and still field a viable team.