It’s been a trying season for New York Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo, and after Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani’s historic game, it got worse. While Verdugo is on the verge of making history in the wrong way, this season, one fan on his X, formerly Twitter, pointed out a unique stat that encapsulates how absurd Ohtani’s performance was, hitting a perfect 6-for-6, including three home runs, 10 RBIs, and two stolen bases in the Dodgers’ 20-4 win against the Miami Marlins.

“Shohei Ohtani accumulated 0.7 fWAR in this game. Alex Verdugo has a 0.6 fWAR in 143 games this season,” the fan said.

Verdugo batted .204 in August, finishing the month with 19 hits, one homerun, 5 RBIs, and 16 strikeouts. He’s batting .255 this month with 12 hits, 4 RBIs, and six strikeouts in 13 games. With nine games left in the season, Verdugo is two groundouts away from tying the record for most groundouts to the right side in a single season in the Statcast Era (since 2015), according to MLB Network’s Seth Warner.

Yankees finally call up Jasson Dominguez amid Alex Verdugo struggles

Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo (24) and center fielder Aaron Judge (99) and right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates after the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After rosters expanded to 28 on September 1, New York Yankees fans were furious about the organization’s hesitation in calling up their prospect amid Alex Verdugo’s struggles. The Yankees called up center fielder Jasson Dominguez from AAA’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders ahead of the Yankees’ three-game series against the Kansas City Royals last Monday.

When he met with the media earlier this month, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman commented on Verdugo’s struggles. Cashman did his best to dispel concerns over the veteran’s slump, insisting Verdugo’s bat would deliver in the long run as the Yankees clinched their first playoff spot in two seasons, per The New York Post’s Greg Joyce.

“It just comes down to what’s best to help us win games?” Cashman said. “It’s as simple as that.”

While highlighting Verdugo’s encouraging stretch at the beginning of September, Cashman says keeping him in the lineup is the team’s best option down the stretch.

“I think he’s playing good baseball right now,” Cashman added. “He’s playing much better than he had been. Just comes down to, is that the best route to go? That’s how we’ve got it set up currently.”

In eight games with the Yankees last season, Dominguez was phenomenal, hitting four home runs and a double in 31 at-bats before a torn UCL and Tommy John surgery ended his season.

Since his call-up, Dominguez has batted .222, has six hits, one home run, and five walks in 27 at-bats.