Shohei Ohtani already has a new interpreter, one day after the Dodgers fired his longtime collaborator Ippei Mizuhara after Mizuhara allegedly used millions of dollars of Ohtani’s money to cover gambling debts.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Seoul, South Korea, where the team opened the MLB regular season with a two-game slate against the Padres, that Will Ireton has been assigned as Ohtani’s new interpreter.
Ireton held the role with Kenta Maeda from 2016-19, and stayed with the Dodgers after the team traded the Japanese pitcher to the Twins.
Ohtani and Mizuhara have been entangled in one of the more surreal potential scandals in sports in recent memory.
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Mizuhara, who also worked with Ohtani for years with the Angels — and was known to be a close friend of the superstar beyond his role as an employee — was accused of stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to fund his bets with alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.
Shortly thereafter, an ESPN report said that an Ohtani spokesperson told the outlet that Ohtani had sent $4.5 million in wire transfers to a Bowyer associate to cover Mizuhara’s debts.
Mizuhara was made available to ESPN for comment, but then a spokesperson “disavowed” what the interpreter had told them.
“Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara had told ESPN. “He decided to pay it off for me.”
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
The bets reportedly included sports like international soccer, but there have been no allegations that he bet on baseball.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler told The Post, on behalf of Ohtani, in a statement that did not specify who was the perpetrator of the theft.
“The Dodgers are aware of media reports and are gathering information,” the team said in a statement. “The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated. The team has no further comment at this time.”