Bingo. It was obvious he wasn't good months ago, but you keep him around right up till the game before his bonus would kick in, because that's the point it must have become clear to the FO that he wasn't good?
Sure, it doesn't matter for the onfield at this point, but it could have mattered 4 months ago and would have enabled him to try and catch on somewhere else. It's a classless move from ownership for no reason other than saving 200k.