Quietly, the Yankees honored a clause in CC Sabathia's contract, acting on its spirit.
Sabathia received a $500,000 bonus related to innings pitched in 2018, despite falling two innings short, according to research by the Associated Press.
Sabathia was rolling toward that bonus when he defied an umpire's warning and was ejected for drilling Rays catcher Jesus Sucre in a Sept. 27 game at Tampa Bay, his final start of the season.
That pitch was in defense of teammate and catcher Austin Romine, who watched an Andrew Kittredge fastball whiz by his head a half-inning earlier.
At the time, Sabathia said that protecting a teammate had more value than the monetary gain of reaching 155 innings, as per his last contract.
"I just felt like it was the right thing to do," said Sabathia, 38, who will serve a five-game suspension to star the 2019 season. Sabathia has said this will be his final season, after agreeing to a one-year, $8 million Yankees contract.
Neither the club, nor the Yankees, publicized the decision to honor the bonus clause.
"It was something that we did very private and weren't looking to publicize, and I'll just leave it at that," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the AP.
The AP also quoted Sabathia's agent, Kyle Thousand, as saying it was "a very nice gesture by the Yankees. CC was very appreciative and is really excited to come back next year, and, hopefully, win a championship."
Sabathia and Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. were in London to promote the Yankees' June 29-30 series against Boston.
