Dodgers see 'more engaging' Ohtani with Mizuhara gone - ESPN

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ippei Mizuhara wasn't just Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, he was a middleman for coaches and teammates, a facilitator for everything the two-way star needed within a ballpark, not to mention away from one.

Given that, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked if he was concerned about Ohtani no longer having a person like Mizuhara in his life.

«Actually, I would argue that it's going to help relationships internally, because there's no longer a buffer,» Roberts said Tuesday, prior to the Dodgers' final spring training contest against the crosstown Los Angeles Angels. «I've already seen it. The last couple days, I think Shohei's been even more engaging with his teammates, and I think there's only upside with that.»

Mizuhara, who came with Ohtani to the United States more than six years ago and became one of his closest friends, was fired by the Dodgers last Wednesday in the wake of media inquiries surrounding at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation.

Ohtani's camp initially said Ohtani transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt and presented Mizuhara for an interview with ESPN on Tuesday night, during which he laid out the process in detail. The following day, a statement from Berk Brettler LLP, the law firm representing Ohtani in the matter, instead said the two-way star «has been the victim of massive theft.» Mizuhara then told ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his debt and that Ohtani had not transferred the money.

Ohtani echoed those sentiments during a 12-minute media session on Monday, half of which was taken up by translations, in which he called Mizuhara's