MLB launches investigation into Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara. What do you need to know?

The league has now opened an official probe into the movements of the Japanese two-way sensation as they relate to allegations of “massive fraud” committed by his longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

MLB launches investigation into Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara

According to reports on Friday, Major League Baseball launched an investigation into Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in connection with a series of wire transfers involving his friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Ohtani’s associate is said to have committed “massive fraud” to the tune of $4.5 million which he allegedly stole from Ohtani to cover gambling losses.

“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari from the news media,” MLB announced Friday. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.” To be clear, Ohtani has not been placed on administrative leave or the restricted list by the league and so, he is still an active player. Regarding details of the allegations, Mizuhara is said to have placed bets with Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker in California. Bowyer is currently under federal investigation, while Ohtani’s name came to light during an independent investigation into Bowyer by the Los Angeles Times.

OK, what do we need to know in the Shohei Ohtani case?

As always, context is key here. At present, Mizuhara is in the wind with the Dodgers having fired him immediately after the story broke. MLB as we have established, is investigating the situation, while the federal government continues its own investigation of Bowyer. With this in mind, there are few things to consider:

Firstly, we’ve got Mizuhara himself. Initially, Ohtani’s right-hand man explained that he went to Ohtani for help, at which point he was given money to pay the gambling debts. Shortly thereafter, Ohtani’s representatives declared that the money had in fact been stolen. Then, Mizuhara changed his story, explaining that Ohtani was not aware of the payments. As you can probably see for yourself, something is not right. This of course leads us to the question of whether Ohtani sent those payments. With sports betting illegal in California, it wouldn’t matter if he did so unknowingly, he’d still have a problem with the federal government. There is also the fact that he would be in violation of MLB’s Rule 21, which forbids players and team personnel from any form of interaction with illegal bookmakers.

Now, with all that we have covered, the next step will likely be that the league requests interviews with both Ohtani and Mizuhara in an effort to clear up this whole mess. Yet, we do have to consider that where Mizuhara is concerned, there is no guarantee he will talk. No longer employed by a team, he is under no obligation to speak with investigators. That said, he did indicate to ESPN that he was willing to cooperate. “Obviously, this is all my fault, everything I’ve done. I’m ready to face all the consequences,” he said.

Where Ohtani himself is concerned, the 29-year-old is not known to be the subject of the criminal investigation that is underway and as such can in theory refuse to speak. That, does of course lead to the possibility that he could be disciplined by the league, however, one has to imagine that such an outcome will be determined by the findings of the ongoing investigation. Ultimately, it’s hard to tell at this point what comes next for Shohei Ohtani, but we do have a precedent from the past. Back in 2015, former major league pitcher Jarred Cosart was found guilty of illegally betting on sports while still an active player, though not on baseball. In the end he was fined, but not suspended. It could take some time to unfold, but keep an eye on this one.