As the Yankees honored CC Sabathia with a pregame ceremony Sunday, the left-hander was preparing for a new role with the team.

Sabathia is scheduled to make his first regular-season relief appearance Tuesday at Tampa Bay, with the team — and Sabathia — looking to see if he can transition to pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason.

“I’m excited and nervous,’’ Sabathia said before the Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 8-3, in their final home regular-season game. “I don’t know what to expect. It’s the first time I’m going on the field doing something I’ve never done.”

Asked if he planned on sitting in the pen Tuesday, Sabathia laughed and said: “Yeah, I’m a bullpen guy now.”

With the Yankees seemingly set with a rotation of James Paxton, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, Sabathia could be joined in the bullpen by J.A. Happ.

Sabathia has made just one career appearance in relief. It came in the 2011 ALDS against the Tigers and came about only because of his rain-shortened stint in Game 1 of that series.

He remembered the appearance and acknowledged it wasn’t his best, since he gave up a run in 1 ¹/₃ innings.

“It was a different scenario,’’ Sabathia said. “When the team needs it, you do what you can. So this is my role going forward. I’m gonna embrace it and hopefully I can fill it [well].”

Aaron Boone said he would probably have Sabathia start an inning on Tuesday and then possibly put him in a “little less scripted” spot during the final series at Texas.

“First things first is getting him out there Tuesday and him bouncing back from that,” Boone said.

Sabathia was honored prior to the game with a video tribute from former and current teammates and opponents. He was greeted on the field by his family, Boone and general manager Brian Cashman.

An emotional Sabathia addressed the crowd and thanked Cashman for bringing him to The Bronx 11 years ago, the training staff “for keeping me on the field,” his teammates and family. And he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his mother, Margie.

“I was about to start crying,’’ Sabathia said of his reaction to the tribute. “This is the first time I got emotional.”

The lefty also paid tribute to the fans, saying, “I look forward to seeing you guys in October.”

How Sabathia will be used then remains to be seen.

“I don’t know if there’s pressure,” Sabathia said of his two potential relief appearances this week. “I’m just kind of nervous to see if I can do it.”

After that, it’s on to the playoffs, retirement and, most likely, Cooperstown.

“With 19 years pitching the way I have, emotionally I’m kind of exhausted,’’ Sabathia said. “It’ll be good next year to give that a break, to give my body a break.”

He doesn’t expect to undergo right-knee replacement for a while.

“Maybe when I’m in my 50s,’’ he said.

And he expects to be around Yankee Stadium after his playing days, like other retired Yankees, Carlos Beltran and Andy Pettitte.

“At some point,’’ Sabathia said of taking a position with the Yankees. “I have to wait and see what happens. … It seems like a pretty fun role and something I feel like I can do.”

By then, he’ll probably be in the Hall of Fame, which Sabathia is already looking forward to.

“This year I have been [thinking about it],’’ Sabathia said. “Everybody’s talking about it. I’ve seen all the parties. I love parties. It would be fun to get in.’’