Major League Baseball opens investigation into Shohei Ohtani, former interpreter - ESPN

Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into the matter surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, the league announced Friday.

MLB is expected to request interviews with all parties, including Ohtani and Mizuhara, a source told ESPN, although officials will have no way to compel Mizuhara's cooperation since he no longer works for baseball.

Ohtani also has a right to refuse cooperation as a member of the MLB Players Association. Ohtani also could invoke his right, under an interpretation of arbitration precedent, to refuse cooperation because of a criminal investigation that's already underway. Traditionally, MLB has argued a player can invoke such an exception if he is a target of the investigation, which Ohtani is not believed to be.

Major League Baseball said in a statement that it began gathering information about the allegations involving Ohtani and Mizuhara after reports came out this week. Its Department of Investigations began formally investigating the matter Friday, the league said.

The announcement came two days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers as reporters pressed for questions about at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to a bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation.

In a span of two days, Ohtani's handlers moved from saying the slugger had paid Mizuhara's gambling debts to his attorneys announcing Ohtani had been the victim of a «massive theft.»

It remains unclear if any authorities are investigating the alleged theft. Ohtani's representatives said Thursday they had officially submitted the allegation to law enforcement but did not say to which authorities. Multiple sources told