The Dodgers have problems but so does every other contender

The superstar is on the injured list.But his team is hopeful he will be able to play in the postseason.

Sound familiar?But this isn’t about Shohei Ohtani; it’s about Aaron Judge.The Los Angeles Dodgers will head into the playoffs this year considerably more unsettled than usual: Ohtani has problems with his right arm and left knee; the bullpen is a mess; the inconsistent offense has started hitting — but against awful teams.Which makes them like pretty much every other contender.Every postseason-bound team is banged up or has something wrong, starting with the Dodgers’ potential World Series opponents, the New York Yankees.The Yankees spent the majority of the summer without Judge, who barely hit in the six games he played after he was activated from the injured list earlier this month.

Judge is now back on the IL with a calf strain and the team isn’t making any promises about how much he’ll play in October, if at all.“We’re going to get him back, or we’re not,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters.“That’s what we’re going to work to do, and we’ll see.”As the likely No.

2 seed in the National League, the Dodgers are expected to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.They are lined up to take on the No.

3 seed Atlanta Braves or one of the three wild-card teams in the divisional round — potentially the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres or Chicago Cubs.Every one of their NLDS opponents have their own problems.With former All-Star Spencer Strider sidelined with elbow problems, the Braves don’t have much starting pitching outside of Chris Sale.The Braves had a deal in place to acquire Jacob deGrom from the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline, but the two-time Cy Young Award winner invoked the no-trade provision in his contract and blocked the exchange.DeGrom’s decision might have decided the fate of the Braves, who ended up with Tyler Mahle as their only midseason starting pitching acquisition.Mahle has outpitched exp...