With a spatula
March 22, 2024, 7:27 pm Shohei Ohtani (left) and Ippei Mizuhara will be investigated by MLB regarding the matter surrounding the Dodgers star. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
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Major League Baseball (MLB) has opened a formal investigation into the matter surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, the baseball league announced Friday.
By: Espn
MLB is expected to request interviews with all parties, including Ohtani and Mizuhara, a source told ESPN, although officials will have no way to force Mizuhara to cooperate since he no longer works for baseball.
Ohtani also has the right to refuse to cooperate as a member of the MLB Players Association. Ohtani could also invoke his right, under one interpretation of arbitration precedent, to refuse to cooperate because of a criminal investigation already underway. Traditionally, MLB has argued that it can only invoke such an exception if the player is a target, which Ohtani is not believed to be.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned of the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari through the media,” Major League Baseball said in a statement. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigation (DOI) began its formal investigation process into the matter.”
The announcement came two days after Mizuhara was fired, as reporters pressed for questions about at least $4.5 million in wire transfers, sent from Ohtani’s bank account, to a gambling operation that is under federal investigation.
In a span of two days, Ohtani’s handlers went from saying that the slugger had paid off Mizuhara’s gambling debts to his lawyers announcing that he had been the victim of a “massive robbery.”
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2024-03-22 23:46:53
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