Major League Baseball is likely to investigate former Angels player David Fletcher for gambling on sports with a bookmaker who also took bets from Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously on Saturday.
ESPN reported that Fletcher placed bets with Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker in Southern California.
Federal prosecutors allege that Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to cover sports gambling debts, sometimes impersonating the Dodgers superstar to bankers.
Sources told ESPN that Fletcher, currently with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, bet on several sports but not baseball.
MLB declined to comment on the Fletcher report.
The league’s gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally, and also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers. Penalties are at the discretion of the commissioner’s office.
Fletcher was Ohtani’s teammate during his six years with the Angels. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December, while Fletcher was traded to the Atlanta Braves and is now with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
Diane Bass, Bowyer’s lawyer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, and the Ballengee Group, Fletcher’s baseball representation, declined to comment on the ESPN report.
