LOS ANGELES—Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star and his former interpreter emerged during the team’s trip to South Korea.
The Dodgers fired the interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, last week when the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.
Manager Dave Roberts endorsed Ohtani addressing the matter publicly. Mr. Roberts said it was the two-way superstar’s decision to do so.
“It’s the right thing to do,” the manager said. “I’m happy he’s going to speak, and speak to what he knows, and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think it will give us all a little bit more clarity.”
Mr. Mizuhara was let go from the team following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and claims from Ohtani’s attorneys that the Japanese star had been the victim of a “massive theft.”
Major League Baseball has opened an investigation of the matter. The Internal Revenue Service has confirmed that Mr. Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker in Orange County, California, are under criminal investigation.
Ohtani made only a brief appearance in the Dodgers clubhouse before Sunday’s Freeway Series opener against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The teams are playing three exhibition games before the Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals in their home opener on Thursday.
Ohtani was set to bat second as the designated hitter at Dodger Stadium. He’s also expected to play Monday and Tuesday in Anaheim, where he was a two-time American League most valuable player before leaving the Angels as a free agent to sign a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December.
Mr. Roberts said Ohtani has not addressed his teammates as a group.
“I think that he’s had one-off conversations with players,” Mr. Roberts said.
The manager said he checked in with Ohtani to see how he’s doing.
“He’s kind of business as usual,” Mr. Roberts said.
Ohtani has a double locker in the Dodgers clubhouse located between the shower room and fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is slated to make his second start of the season on Saturday against St. Louis.
Extra security was posted in the jammed clubhouse on Sunday. Besides the players and a horde of media, eight temporary lockers were set up at one end for minor leaguers brought over from Arizona for the Freeway Series.
Overhead televisions were tuned to NCAA Tournament men’s basketball games, baseball, and horse racing, with former Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca offering TV handicapping tips on the day’s races.
The Major League Baseball gambling policy is posted in every clubhouse. Betting on baseball—legally or not—is punishable with a one-year ban from the sport. The penalty for betting on other sports illegally is at the commissioner’s discretion. Sports gambling is illegal in California, even as 38 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of it.
“The mood in the room is get ready for baseball because I don’t hear a lot of conversations and speculation,” Mr. Roberts said. “That’s why I think [Monday] is going to be good for everyone.”
