In one league, the East looks as wide open as an airport on New Year’s Eve.

In the other, the East features enough carcasses to feed a pack of vultures.

This assessment could have run in December 2005, only in reverse. This reality remains the same:

Anyone can detect the flaws in the Yankees and the Mets. Nevertheless, everyone should envision how both can wind up atop their divisions regardless — the Yankees because of parity in the AL East, the Mets because of inequality in the NL East.

Just 15 wins separated first place (Toronto, at 93-69) from last (Boston, 78-84) in the 2015 AL East, and that the Red Sox’s offseason maneuvers already make them the division favorites in some minds further reinforce the tightness here. It was the NL East in ’05 that featured just a nine-game separation between the penthouse and the basement, as the Braves led the way at 90-72 and the Nationals brought up the rear at 81-81.

Ten years later, the NL East champion Mets finished 90-72, 27 games ahead of the Phillies — who, at 63-99, earned themselves the game’s worst record and the 2016 top draft pick. The ’05 AL East concluded with a 28-game divide, with the Yankees and Red Sox both going 95-67 and the Rays reversing that for a 67-95 mark.

The industry runs in cycles. Neither the Rays nor the Orioles (74-88 in ’05) have been laughingstocks for quite some time, while the Braves and Phillies both have made conscious, admirable decisions to tear themselves down after long runs of contention and aim beyond 2016.

Really, of the 10 teams that occupy the two East divisions, only one — the Marlins, still run by tempestuous owner Jeffrey Loria — hasn’t undergone a DNA transplant in the last decade. The nexus of baseball power now rests in the Midwest, with the game’s top four 2015 regular-season win totals posted by teams in the Central Divisions: St. Louis (100), Pittsburgh (98), the Cubs (97) and Kansas City (95).

These cycles can move quickly. By 2006, the NL East had widened considerably, with the Mets prevailing at 97-65 and the Nationals dropping to 71-91. Or they can’t — the AL East saw the Yankees and the Rays wind up 36 games apart in ’06. Nevertheless, at the moment, with club’s Hot Stove shopping more than halfway complete, little reason exists to anticipate a sea change.

“We don’t anticipate there ever being large gaps, one to five,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said of the AL East this past week at the Winter Meetings.

Marlins president of baseball of operations Michael Hill said of the NL East: “I think it will always be a competitive division and a division that you can never take lightly.” He acknowledged, however, “The Braves are rebuilding. The Phillies are rebuilding. But they’re getting good talent back in the deals they’re making.”

Let’s break it down, East by East, team by team, going off last year’s results, grading them on what they’ve done or haven’t done so far and offering a December prediction for 2016 that The Post reserves the right to alter dramatically by Opening Day:

AL East

1. Toronto (93-69 in 2015)

Better or worse? Worse, because David Price drove the Blue Jays’ two-month surge into the franchise’s first postseason berth since 1993, and now he is gone to rival Boston. Though Marcus Stroman should assume the ace mantle, Jesse Chavez and J.A. Happ have come aboard for pitching depth and the lineup still can be lethal, the club gave up organizational depth to acquire Price and Troy Tulowitzki.

December prediction: First place. New general manager Ross Atkins has to hope for team health as robust as last year’s.

2. Yankees (87-75)

Better or worse? Worse. Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks possess very high upsides, and it wouldn’t surprise if both contributed significantly. Neither is a sure thing, though, and for now, the Yankees’ pitching staff appears thinner than Donald Trump’s tolerance, with Adam Warren gone to Chicago and Justin Wilson to Detroit. They figure to be busier than most teams between now and spring training.

December prediction: Third place. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira can’t replicate their 2015 production, right?

3. Orioles (81-81)

Better or worse? Worse. Chris Davis and Wei-Yin Chen still are free agents. The O’s have made a considerable effort to re-sign Davis and not so much to re-sign Chen. At least they kept two other key free agents, setup man Darren O’Day and catcher Matt Wieters. Can their lowly regarded farm system plug holes?

December prediction: Fifth place. Buck Showalter must recover from last year’s turbulence and maximize his depreciating assets.

4. Rays (80-82)

Better or worse? Better. Brad Miller and Logan Morrison came over from Seattle in a six-player trade and should help the underwhelming offense. Alex Cobb could return from Tommy John surgery during the season, and Matt Moore will be a year further removed from his Tommy John procedure.

December prediction: Fourth place. Their tight budget, a consequence of their lousy ballpark situation, still handcuffs their ability to make big moves.

5. Red Sox (78-84)

Better or worse? Better. Under new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, Price received the largest contract ever for a pitcher, elite closer Craig Kimbrel arrived in a trade from San Diego, lefty-mashing outfielder Chris Young switched over from the Yankees and reliever Carson Smith joined the bullpen in a trade with Seattle.

December prediction: Second place. Potential downfalls include the returns of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval and starting rotation depth.

NL East

1. Mets (90-72)

Better or worse? Worse, because Yoenis Cespedes is not a Met and almost certainly won’t be one. Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker represent useful pieces. The Mets know they have more work to do in their outfield and their bullpen, and they should throw their fans a bone and bring back Bartolo Colon, too.

December prediction: First place. The risk comes in placing too much of an onus on their starting rotation after last year’s heavy workload.

2. Nationals (83-79)

Better or worse? Worse. Their only significant acquisition so far is reliever Shawn Kelley, and Jordan Zimmermann is gone while Ian Desmond very likely will be, too. But Washington does own intriguing replacements in young shortstop Trea Turner and starter Tanner Roark.

December prediction: Second place. New manager Dusty Baker should help heal the clubhouse, though the fates of relievers Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen must be resolved.

3. Marlins (71-91)

Better or worse? Worse. They barely have touched their roster while engaging in public-relations battles with Jose Fernandez’s agent Scott Boras and making a spectacle of Fernandez’s availability. Do new manager Don Mattingly and new hitting coach Barry Bonds appreciate what they’re joining here?

December prediction: Third place. Only because they actually are playing to win, unlike the two teams below them.

4. Braves (67-95)

Better or worse? Worse, by design. Gone are young starting pitcher Shelby Miller (to Arizona) and defensive whiz shortstop Andrelton Simmons (to the Angels), and in are impressive hauls from those sales that mostly won’t pay dividends until 2017 and beyond. The new veterans, shortstop Erick Aybar and center fielder Ender Inciarte, might wind up traded by season’s end, too.

December prediction: Fifth place. Though the last season at ugly Turner Field will fit its locale, a full-blown rebuild has its advantages.

5. Phillies (63-99)

Better or worse? Worse, thanks to their trade of young closer Ken Giles to Houston. Like with the Braves, you get the logic. Will Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz, the last survivors of the playoff teams, finally become attractive trade pieces in the last year of their contracts?

December prediction: Fourth place. Some of the future, namely right-hander Aaron Nola and third baseman Maikel Franco, already is aboard.