Trying to make sense of changing stories

Many with the Dodgers seemed shocked by the accusations against Ohtani’s interpreter.

SEOUL — The camera shot of the dugout looked reminiscent of so many before.

Shohei Ohtani approaching his longtime interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara. The two exchanging a few words while gazing out at the field. Each of them cracking a smile and sharing a laugh, as if no major scandal was bubbling behind the scenes.

Those were the images that flashed across SportsNet LA’s broadcast in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 5-2 opening day win against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

Only everything was not OK. By the next morning, Ohtani’s relationship with Mizuhara had permanently been stained.

As The Times first reported, representatives of Ohtani accused his interpreter of engaging in a “massive theft” of the two-way star’s funds, with millions of dollars of Ohtani’s money allegedly used to pay off gambling debts Mizuhara owed to a bookmaker.

Many within the Dodgers organization seemed shocked by the whiplash turn of events during the last 24 hours and were hesitant to speak about the issue, which immediately sparked intense social media speculation.

“I hope Sho is good,” Mookie Betts said when asked about the situation after Thursday’s 15-11 loss to the Padres. “But at the end of the day you have to make sure we take care of your job.”

The story came to light after Ohtani’s name surfaced in a federal investigation into Orange County resident Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation.

Mizuhara, who has been Ohtani’s personal interpreter throughout his MLB career, was accused of theft in a statement by the West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler, which represents Ohtani.

Thursday morning local time in South Korea — where the Dodgers opened their season with an international series against the Padres — the Dodgers announced Mizuhara had been fired.

Neither Mizuhara, Ohtani nor Bowyer has been charged with any crimes. None of the bets in the question are known to have involved baseball games. And no one has alleged that Ohtani placed any bets himself.

Before the Dodgers’ series finale in Seoul on Thursday, manager Dave Roberts declined multiple times to comment on the situation.

Ohtani, who went 1 for 5 with an RBI as the team’s designated hitter, also refused to address the situation after Thursday’s game. Two public relations officials stood guard in front of his locker when he walked into the clubhouse. One of them then escorted Ohtani out of the room past a horde of media members.

“Otsukaresama,” a Japanese phrase that roughly translates to “thanks for your hard work,” was all Ohtani said as he exited.

As ESPN first reported, Mizuhara addressed the team after the opening day win over the Padres, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Mizuhara told the team a news story would soon be coming out detailing the situation, but he gave no indication of his alleged theft nor any impending departure from the team.

Instead, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, Mizuhara offered a story similar to the one he told ESPN on the record Tuesday.

By Thursday morning in Seoul, however, the story had changed.

Ohtani’s representatives made their accusations about Mizuhara’s involvement in the “massive theft,” leading to his immediate firing by the team.

Mizuhara also recanted details of his initial story to ESPN, the outlet reported. In his second version of the story, Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling debts, nor had he transferred money to Bowyer’s associate.

The change of stories came as a surprise to many in the Dodgers traveling party on Thursday, who were unsure of what to make of all the conflicting information.

One player wondered how Ohtani’s seemingly infallible relationship with Mizuhara could end under such scandalous circumstances. Another said he was simply trying to stay away from public speculation running rampant on social media.

As of Thursday, Ohtani was not facing any discipline from Major League Baseball, according to a person with knowledge of the situation but not authorized to speak publicly. The league was not believed to be actively investigating the claims, either. According to the person, MLB has yet to hear from any law enforcement officials pertaining to the allegations.

In the wake of Mizuhara’s firing, Roberts said that Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, will serve as Ohtani’s interpreter in the interim.

Ireton — who previously spent three years as Kenta Maeda’s interpreter and is nicknamed “Will the Thrill” for his outgoing personality — was also assigned to be pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s interpreter during Thursday’s game.

Yamamoto has another personal interpreter, Yoshihiro Sonoda. But because MLB rules limit teams to having only one interpreter in the dugout during games, Mizuhara was Yamamoto’s interpreter during pitching appearances this spring.

Ireton has been a secondary interpreter for Yamamoto this spring, primarily involved in the Japanese pitcher’s baseball-related conversations around the facility.