MLB Agent on Shohei Ohtani Gambling Probe, Rumors: ‘It’s Embarrassing…It’s Ugly’

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIMarch 24, 2024

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It’s been an ugly few weeks in Major League Baseball, with the organization’s investigation into the alleged theft of Shohei Ohtani by his ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara taking centerstage.

Regarding MLB’s current events, one “prominent player agent” told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale the following as Opening Day approaches Thursday:

“It’s embarrassing what’s happening right now. This is supposed to be a great time, getting ready for the season, and we’re going through this. It’s ugly.”

Ohtani, who just won his second American League MVP award, fired his interpreter Wednesday after questions arose regarding at least $4.5 million in wire transfers that were sent the superstar’s bank account to a bookmaking operation run by Mathew Bowyer of Southern California. That operation is under federal investigation, per ESPN’s Tisha Thompson.

The story from Ohtani’s camp has changed, as Thompson noted.

“Initially, a spokesman for Ohtani told ESPN the slugger had transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt. The spokesman presented Mizuhara to ESPN for a 90-minute interview Tuesday night, during which Mizuhara laid out his account in great detail. However, as ESPN prepared to publish the story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara’s account and said Ohtani’s lawyers would issue a statement.”

That statement read as follows, from Berk Brettler LLP: “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”

The sport’s biggest superstar joined the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason on a monster 10-year, $700 million contract, making the team instant World Series favorites. But talk now surrounds this investigation and what exactly happened behind the scenes.

In the midst of all this, there’s chaos within the Major League Baseball Players’ Association as players attempted to replace the organization’s No. 2 in Bruce Meyer (MLBPA deputy executive director and lead labor negotiator), with Harry Marino, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Passan noted that there was a “significant majority of the dozens of players in attendance raised their hands in favor of change.” However, Clark made clear that a replacement would be his decision (Clark notably hand-picked Meyer for the role).

So chaos reigns right now in MLB, but the season will march on with Opening Day arriving Thursday. The campaign already began on March 20 when the Dodgers and San Diego Padres began a two-game set in Seoul, South Korea (the teams split a pair).