Yankees Pay CC Sabathia $500K Bonus For 2018 Season

It largely goes without saying that the Yankees enjoy a warm relationship with veteran lefty CC Sabathia, but the point was driven home again today. As Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports, the club recently paid Sabathia a $500K bonus for his work in 2018 that was not technically required by his contract.

You may recall that Sabathia was tossed from a late-September start — his final of the season — for plunking an opponent in retaliation. When he did so, Sabathia cost himself a clear shot at reaching his 155th inning on the season and thereby triggering a $500K bonus. He also endeared himself yet further to his teammates and got his money’s worth on the way off the mound.

It turns out that the Yanks quietly slipped Sabathia a check for the $500K even though the incentive provision was not actually triggered. That’s but a fraction of the monstrous sum the organization has paid the lefty over the years. It seems that pushes him past the $216MM mark over ten years in the Bronx, with another $8MM still to come for his 2019 efforts after the sides lined up on their fourth separate contractual arrangement.

Still, it’s a nice chunk of change. Sabathia’s rep says that the southpaw “was very appreciative.” Yankees GM Brian Cashman indicated that “it was something that we did very private and weren’t looking to publicize.” As Blum notes, the existence of the payment was only sussed out because of the team’s luxury tax filings.