Report: Ohtani's ex-translator negotiating guilty plea

Ippei Mizuhara, the former translator for Shohei Ohtani, is in negotiations to plead guilty to federal crimes stemming from allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Dodgers star, sources told Tim Arango and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times.

Prosecutors have discovered evidence that Mizuhara may have taken more than the $4.5 million he was initially accused of stealing, Arango and Schmidt report. There's also reportedly a belief that Mizuhara was able to change the settings on Ohtani's bank account to keep him in the dark about the removal of his funds.

Ohtani denied any knowledge of Mizuhara's gambling during a press conference in late March.

"Just to go over the result, in conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies," Ohtani said.

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Mizuhara told Ohtani's agent Nez Balelo that Ohtani had initially paid off the debts of an unnamed teammate before changing course to say he had fallen into debt with a bookie and needed Ohtani to bail him out, according to Arango and Schmidt.

The Dodgers immediately fired Mizuhara upon learning of the allegations during the team's season-opening series in Seoul. Mizuhara was stopped by law enforcement officials upon arriving back in the United States but wasn't arrested at that time, per Arango and Schmidt.

Major League Baseball has also been conducting an investigation into the situation.