Doctor in Ellsbury-Yankees contract battle disputes team's account

Viktor Bouquette, an outside doctor involved in the contract dispute between Jacoby Ellsbury and the New York Yankees, says he never treated the outfielder for a work-related injury, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Yankees believe he did, which is reportedly the basis of their plan to withhold the $26 million still owed to Ellsbury, who was released by the team last week.

The club believes Ellsbury used Bouquette's Progressive Medical Center in Atlanta to rehab from multiple injuries that forced him to miss the 2017 and '18 campaigns. The Yankees also believe the treatment Ellsbury received at the facility may have prevented him from properly rehabbing his injuries.

To withhold the money, New York must prove Ellsbury visited the facility without permission, and that he received treatment for a work-related injury, according to Rosenthal.

However, Bouquette said Sunday that his clinic focuses on reducing inflammation; not on rehabbing injuries.

The physician added that the Yankees knew Ellsbury was going to the clinic because they asked him for a signed statement regarding banned substances in May 2019.

"To my knowledge, (the Yankees) had no objection at all," Bouquette said. "The only (request) I got from them was asking if I was familiar with the banned-substance list, and then saying I needed to put that in writing, which I did. That was the only contact we had with them (to that point)."

In another wrinkle, the Yankees reportedly didn't insure Ellsbury's contract for the 2020 season. They were previously reimbursed for 75% of the $42 million the outfielder earned over the last two years while sitting out with injuries.

Meanwhile, MLB isn't actively investigating Bouquette for giving Ellsbury or any other players PEDs, sources told Rosenthal. That contradicts a report from Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, which said the league was looking into the matter.