Major League Baseball issued a statement Friday announcing that its Department of Investigations has begun the formal process of investigating the matter involving Ohtani and his longtime interpreter. "Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter."
Ohtani's interpreter was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday and Ohtani's camp is accusing Mizuhara of using the player's money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker. While it was reported Thursday that Ohtani was not under investigation by the league, the commissioner's office has since decided this matter warrants a closer look. There is a lot about the situation that is uncertain and that uncertainty will likely alter Ohtani's fantasy draft positioning over the rest of March.