Kiner-Falefa declines Pirates' offer to play for performance bonus

The Pittsburgh Pirates tried to make Isiah Kiner-Falefa some extra money on Monday, but the veteran infielder declined the opportunity.

Kiner-Falefa entered the last game of the Pirates' season four plate appearances shy of reaching a $250,000 bonus, and eventually, manager Derek Shelton gave him a chance to play.

"Last night, got the lineup, and I wasn't in there," Kiner-Falefa told MLB.com's Alex Stumpf.

"I had no problem with it, I didn't fight it. It is what it is. Today, when I got to the field and they found out, they came up to me maybe an hour before the game and gave me the option. At that point, I kind of already checked out. At this point, I didn't think it was fair to take a spot from Peggy (Liover Peguero) or one of the young guys."

Kiner-Falefa didn't seem bothered by missing out on the performance bonus, shifting some of the blame onto himself for missing a month's worth of games this season because of injury.

This is the second time the Pirates have been involved in a situation involving a player's performance bonus. The organization came under fire last week after cutting veteran first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who needed four plate appearances to collect a $200,000 bonus.

Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington both said the bonus didn't factor into Tellez losing his job.