Source – Reps for Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ask to investigate theft

Representatives of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani have contacted law enforcement authorities and asked them to investigate a “massive theft” of money from the player, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN on Thursday.

The source declined to say which agency had been contacted.

A Major League Baseball source told ESPN on Thursday that the league has not been contacted by federal authorities. The source said MLB’s next step would be to gather facts, which could take time in light of the ongoing federal investigation.

On Wednesday, lawyers for the Dodgers pitcher and designated hitter said he had been “a victim of a massive theft” after reporters asked an Ohtani spokesman questions about why $4.5 million in wire transfers had been sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation.

The theft allegation came after his spokesman initially told ESPN that the slugger had transferred the funds to cover the gambling debts of Ohtani’s former interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara.

Mizuhara on Tuesday evening told ESPN the same and laid out his story in great detail, including saying that Ohtani had sat with him, and the two transferred the money in $500,000 increments in several different settings. But as ESPN prepared to publish a story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara’s account.

In a subsequent interview with Mizuhara, he told ESPN he had not been truthful — that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling activities, debts or efforts to repay him.

On Thursday, a source close to Ohtani gave an explanation for the changing storylines: As Ohtani’s handlers tried to determine what had happened, they initially relied solely on Mizuhara, who continued to translate for Ohtani.

After Wednesday’s season-opening game in South Korea, Dodgers officials called a clubhouse meeting and told players a negative story was coming later in the day, a team official said, and Mizuhara apologized, saying he had a gambling addiction. It was then, the official said, that Ohtani understood for the first time what was happening and began asking questions.

When asked Wednesday if he had interpreted anything incorrectly on purpose, Mizuhara told ESPN, “No, I have never done that.”

Mizuhara, when asked by ESPN on Wednesday afternoon if he had been accused of theft, said he was told he could not comment but declined to say by whom. He did not respond to a subsequent question about whether he had taken any money without Ohtani’s knowledge.

The developments this week came as federal investigators are examining the operation run by Southern California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer. The wire-transfer payments were sent from Ohtani’s account to an associate of Bowyer’s, according to multiple sources and bank data reviewed by ESPN.

Multiple sources,…