Ex-Angel David Fletcher under investigation by MLB for alleged links to bookmaker in Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal: report

An MLB investigation into former Angels infielder David Fletcher's alleged ties to the illegal bookmaker at the center of the Shohei Ohtani singer scandal is reportedly underway.

The league began its investigation Monday, according to ESPN, which reported last week that Fletcher had bet on several sports other than baseball through bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

“Government cooperation will be crucial in a case like this where we don’t have evidence,” an anonymous MLB source told ESPN.

Now a member of the Braves organization, Fletcher played with Ohtani on the Angels from 2018-23.

Ohtani's translator, Ippei Mizuhara, now fired, is accused by federal prosecutors of stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani to “pay off his own substantial gambling debts incurred as part of an illegal operation of betting creation,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. last month.

Mizuhara worked with Ohtani during the superstar's stint with the Angels, then rejoined Ohtani when he signed with the Dodgers in the offseason. Mizuhara was fired in March and has since been charged with bank fraud.

Ohtani, who ESPN reports is close friends with Fletcher, denied betting on sports or being aware that Mizuhara was doing so.

MLB allows its players to bet on sports other than baseball through legal sportsbooks. Fletcher is not accused of betting on baseball.

Sources told ESPN that Colby Schultz, a former minor league player in the Royals organization, bet on baseball. These bets allegedly included Angels games when Fletcher, his close friend, was with the team.

Fletcher, a career .276 hitter, has appeared in five games for the Braves this year but has primarily played at Triple-A, where he is also playing as a reliever for the first time in his career.

Ohtani, a hitter and pitcher and two-time American League MVP, spent his first six MLB seasons with the Angels from 2017-23 before joining the Dodgers in December on a 10-year, $700 million contract that included heavily deferred money.

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