Braves infielder Utility linked to Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal

The Atlanta Braves are about to be mentioned in one of the biggest baseball stories of the year.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers was defrauded of nearly $17 million by his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who pleaded guilty to a litany of federal charges, including federal bank fraud and submitting a false tax return in connection with his use of an illegal bookmaking operation based in Southern California. The news broke while Ohtani and the Dodgers were in South Korea for a two-game series against the San Diego Padres the week before MLB Opening Day.

New report tonight from ESPN’s Tisha Thompson discovered a Braves connection – utilityman David Fletcher, currently in Triple-A Gwinnett but formerly with the Los Angeles Angels during Ohtani’s time with the team.

According to Thompson’s report, Fletcher and a friend who played in the minor leagues also used the same bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, to place illicit bets on various sports. Fletcher’s bets were not on baseball, while his friend, identified as Colby Schultz, bet not only on baseball, but also on games that Fletcher played while on the Angels’ major league roster .

According to Thompson, MLB, the Atlanta Braves, Fletcher and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, which is prosecuting Mizuhara, all declined to comment. A league source confirmed to Thompson that Fletcher was not investigated prior to his reporting, but is now “expected to be the subject” of a league investigation.

Fletcher had already been mentioned in passing in this story, as he was present at the 2021 poker party where bookmaker Bowyer first met Mizuhara. Fletcher apparently played no active role in introducing the two, he explained in an interview with ESPN in March, but he knew Bowyer was a bookie and claimed at the time that he had never used Bowyer’s services.

Thompson’s reporting ties together some of the dots in Mizuhara’s initial investigation: A mention in the federal complaint against Mizuhara stated that an individual, named only as “Bookmaker 3,” was involved in using Mizuhara’s electronic information to facilitate money transfers that turned out to belong to Ohtani. According to Thompson, “Bookmaker 3” was actually Schultz, Fletcher’s friend.

Fletcher currently plays for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers, where he is batting .250/.315/.268. He was called up to the major leagues during Ozzie Albies’ injury absence, going 2-8 while making three starts at second base.

He is still owed $14 million for the final two seasons of his contract extension signed with the Angels in April 2021.

This story will be updated.