Francisco Lindor has been traded. Carlos Carrasco went with him. It’s not a surprising move, and yet it’s still a sad one, the departure of a potential icon in the latest attempt by Cleveland to stay competitive without going all-in on a few seasons. Others will have more to say about that side of it, but as a quick exercise, let’s take a look at how each division affected now shapes up on paper, keeping in mind that 1) there’s a lot of offseason left, and 2) this is just cumulative projected fWAR from FanGraphs.
| Position\Team | Minnesota | Chicago | Cleveland | Kansas City | Detroit |
| C | 3.5 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 0.9 |
| 1B | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| 2B | 2.7 | 3 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| SS | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 3 | 1.1 |
| 3B | 4.4 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
| LF | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1 | 1.1 |
| RF | 3.2 | 1.4 | 1 | 1.7 | 0.8 |
| CF | 4.1 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| DH | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| SP | 10.9 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 9.2 | 9.6 |
| RP | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Total | 38.2 | 38 | 32.5 | 25.9 | 21.4 |
In the AL Central, it drops from a three-team to a two-team race. The White Sox and Twins match up exceptionally well, portending another exciting season up top. It’s worth noting that even with Lindor and Carrasco, Cleveland was only going to be in the mix with these guys—not clearly above—but it’s striking that they’re now a midpoint between the leaders and the Royals, and it makes the trade stand out compared to ones like the Corey Kluber deal, which left Cleveland still in obvious contention.
| Position\Team | New York | Atlanta | Washington | Philadelphia | Miami |
| C | 1.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| 1B | 3 | 4.6 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
| 2B | 2.8 | 3.7 | 0.6 | -0.1 | 1 |
| SS | 5.6 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 2 |
| 3B | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| LF | 1.3 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| RF | 3.5 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.4 | -0.3 |
| CF | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2 |
| DH | -0.6 | -0.6 | -0.9 | -0.8 | -0.7 |
| SP | 16.5 | 13 | 14.7 | 12.1 | 10 |
| RP | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Total | 41.6 | 34.9 | 30.6 | 25.7 | 20.1 |
In the NL East, the Mets already had the edge, but this only amplifies it. They’re the team to beat out there barring some big moves elsewhere in the division, and it’d have to be a lot of big moves for someone else to be the favorite. Put a pin in the Phillies, by the way. Not that they’re a sleeper or something. The opposite. We should talk sometime about how they got to be such a mess.
