Source: Nats, Hellickson agree to $1.3M deal for ’19

WASHINGTON » Righthander Jeremy Hellickson and the Washington Nationals have agreed in principle to a $1.3 million, oneyear contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The 31-year-old Hellickson could earn up to $4 million more in performance bonuses, based on the number of games he starts.

He was 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 19 starts for Washington last season.

The Nationals are Hellickson’s fifth club in a big league career that began in 2010 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He is 74-72 with a 4.07 ERA in the majors.

MLB: No evidence against Mariners

SEATTLE » Major League Baseball’s independent investigation found no credible evidence to support claims of disparaging comments and discriminatory treatment by members of the Mariners front office.

MLB said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation found the Mariners did not violate baseball’s “workplace code of conduct, or applicable anti-discrimination law,” in the treatment of Lorena Martin or in her termination by the club. Martin was the club’s director of high performance for one season, then was fired following the 2018 season.

The investigation also concluded there was no evidence to support Martin’s claims that general manager Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay and manager Scott Servais made disparaging comments against Latino players. The Mariners have denied Martin’s claims since they were first made.

Martin has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the team. MLB said it will have no further comment regarding the investigation due to the pending litigation.

The investigation was conducted by Epstein Becker Green, a law firm specializing in labor and employment matters. MLB said the firm’s lawyers interviewed 17 potential witnesses, including Martin.

Martin took to social media on Wednesday in response to the MLB investigation, saying she is “disappointed but not surprised at the outcome.” In her statement, Martin said she was interviewed by Jennifer Gefsky, a former MLB deputy general counsel who is now an Epstein Becker partner.

Source: Boxberger and Royals agree

KANSAS CITY, MO. » A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a $2.2 million, one-year deal with reliever Brad Boxberger.

The 30-year-old Boxberger, a former All-Star with the Rays, had a 4.89 ERA and 32 saves with the Diamondbacks last season.

Tazawa to Cubs

CHICAGO » Reliever Junichi Tazawa has finalized a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs and will report to big league spring training.

The 32-year-old righthander was with a 7.07 ERA in 31 games last season for Miami and the Angels. Tazawa is 21-26 with a 4.12 ERA in nine big league seasons that began with Boston (2009-16) before he joined the Marlins in 2017.