Spring Training: 3 most overrated MLB teams and 3 teams not getting enough love

3 teams that will fail to meet high expectations

3. Cleveland Indians

The Indians’ biggest move this offseason was sending both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets. Yet for some reason, PECOTA still has them finishing at 85-77 and second in the AL Central. It is going to be hard for the Indians to live up to such expectations with what should be an improved White Sox team fighting for a World Series. The additions of Amed Rosario, Eddie Rosario, and Andres Gimenez are still not enough to get this team into the postseason. It will take a heroic effort from the likes of Shane Bieber and Jose Ramirez to even get close to this 85-win projection.

2. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are also projected to finish at 85-77. But there are too many unknowns surrounding stars like Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant. Keeping all three means this projection may be too low. However, that scenario still seems unlikely and there will also be a huge distraction hanging over the team until their respective futures are known. The Cubs are a team that could easily flip up into the “exceed expectations” category if they signed all three stars to extensions before the start of the season. That is just not likely to happen.

1. New York Mets

Someone slow down the Mets hype train. PECOTA has a 94-68 projected record for a team that hasn’t won that many games since the 2006 season. Sure, the trade of Lindor is a huge boost and Steve Cohen’s big pockets have fans ready for change. But the Mets didn’t land every player they wanted and this is still a tough NL East division. This projection assumes the Mets are going to win the East by 10 games. That is far too bold and fans may be in for a letdown with expectations this high.