Player in Atlanta Braves organization under investigation for sports betting

ATLANTA – Major League Baseball has opened an investigation into the organization’s player and Atlanta Braves second baseman David Fletcher in connection with gambling, according to ESPN.

David Fletcher, who previously played for the Los Angeles Angels, is suspected of betting on sports – but not baseball – with Mathew Bowyer, the Southern California bookmaker who took bets from the performer of Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara.

Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off his sports gambling debts during a years-long scheme, sometimes posing as the Dodgers superstar to bankers.

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The league’s gaming policy prohibits players and team employees from betting on baseball, even legally. MLB also prohibits betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers. The sanction is at the discretion of the commissioner’s office.

Fletcher was a teammate of Ohtani during the Japanese two-way sensation’s 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. He is now with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

Mizuhara pleaded not guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud, a formality ahead of a plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors and signed May 5 in a sprawling sports betting case.

In a March interview, Fletcher told ESPN that he was present at a 2021 poker game in San Diego where Mizuhara first met Bowyer. Fletcher said he knew Bowyer was a bookmaker at the time and added that he never bet on Bowyer’s operation himself.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.