A former teammate of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani may have placed bets with the same sportsbook used by Ohtani's former performer, ESPN reported.
Citing anonymous sources, the sports reporting platform said infielder David Fletcher, who was Ohtani's teammate on the Angels from 2018 to 2023, placed bets at Mathew Bowyer's betting operation.
Ohtani's former Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, recently agreed to plead guilty in federal court to one count of bank fraud and signing a false tax return as part of a scheme to surreptitiously steal more than $17 million from Ohtani for pay an Orange County. betting house, according to the United States Department of Justice.
ESPN said Fletcher, who was traded to Atlanta, bet on several sports, but not baseball.
(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)
Fletcher was traded to Atlanta last year and had struggled since signing a five-year, $26 million contract with the Angels in 2021. He currently plays for the Gwinnett Stripers, the Braves' minor league affiliate.
ESPN reported Friday that Fletcher placed bets on several sports, but not baseball. According to the report, former minor leaguer Colby Schultz, identified as a close friend of Fletcher, bet on Angels games while Fletcher was with the club.
Fletcher told ESPN in March that he had met Bowyer on multiple occasions and knew he was a bookie, but denied ever placing bets with him, the outlet reported.
Major League Baseball rules prohibit players from betting on baseball under any circumstances and betting on other sports through illegal means. Violations could result in punishments including fines, suspensions, and, in cases of baseball betting, permanent banning from the game.
The report on Fletcher and Shultz's game is the latest twist in a saga that has paralyzed the baseball world since The Times broke the story on March 20. The newspaper reported that Ohtani's name had come up in the federal investigation of Bowyer, an allegedly illegal bookmaker living in Orange County.
Federal officials have concluded that Othani, who has denied gambling, was a victim in the case. The two-way star, who was traded to the Dodgers late last year, is free to continue playing.
Major League Baseball said in a statement that it would “wait until the resolution of the criminal proceedings to determine whether further investigation is warranted.”
