FILE -Los Angeles Angels’ David Fletcher returns to the dugout after compelled out at second base towards the Minnesota Twins in the course of the third inning of a baseball recreation Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photograph/Craig Lassig, File)
Main League Baseball is predicted to research former Angels participant David Fletcher for playing on sports activities with a bookmaker who additionally took bets from Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, an individual conversant in the scenario advised The Related Press.
The particular person spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity Saturday as a result of they weren’t at liberty to debate such impending issues.
ESPN reported Friday night time that Fletcher positioned bets with Mathew Bowyer, an alleged unlawful bookmaker in Southern California. Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole almost $17 million from Ohtani to repay sports activities playing money owed throughout a yearslong scheme, at instances impersonating the Dodgers celebrity to bankers.
READ: Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter charged with stealing $16M
Sources advised ESPN that Fletcher, who presently is with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, guess on a number of sports activities however not baseball.
MLB declined to touch upon the Fletcher report.
The league’s playing coverage prohibits gamers and group workers from wagering on baseball, even legally. MLB additionally bans betting on different sports activities with unlawful or offshore bookmakers. The penalty is on the discretion of the commissioner’s workplace.
Fletcher was a teammate of Ohtani’s in the course of the Japanese two-way sensation’s six years with the Angels. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contact with the Los Angeles Dodgers final December whereas Fletcher was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He’s now with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
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Diane Bass, Bowyer’s lawyer, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Los Angeles and the Ballengee Group, Fletcher’s baseball illustration, declined to touch upon the ESPN report.
Mizuhara pleaded not responsible Tuesday to financial institution and tax fraud, a formality forward of a plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors and signed on Might 5 in a wide-ranging sports activities betting case.
In a March interview, Fletcher advised ESPN he was current at a 2021 poker recreation in San Diego the place Mizuhara first met Bowyer. Fletcher stated he knew Bowyer was a bookmaker on the time, and added that he by no means positioned a guess himself with Bowyer’s operation.
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