Braves are being impacted by Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal in unexpected way

The hits keep coming for the Atlanta Braves, who can't seem to keep their stars healthy and productive at the same time. Austin Riley is slated to miss his fifth straight game after suffering "intercostal muscle inflammation" around the bottom rib on his left side.

Riley told reporters that he still can't swing a bat, but the Braves have not mentioned an IL stint. There was initially hope that Riley could return for Atlanta's current home stand, but that appears unlikely.

Why isn't Riley on the injured list? Well, the Braves wanted to get him back sooner, rather than later. An IL assignment can only be back-dated three days, so if there's hope of Riley returning within the next week or so, Atlanta should stay the course and continue with Riley on the "active" roster.

Of course, it would help if Atlanta had an easy, proven replacement option to call up in Riley's place. That's why the Braves signed longtime utilityman David Fletcher in the offseason. He was supposed to be the jack of all trades who received infield reps in a pinch. He was even seen pitching knuckleballs for Triple-A Gwinnett recently.

Unfortunately, he's no longer an option for the Braves due to what we can charitably call... hot water.

Braves' Austin Riley replacement unavailable due to gambling scandal, Ippei Mizuhara connection

According to ESPN's Tisha Thompson, who spearheaded the reporting on the Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal a few months ago, Fletcher has been accused of placing bets with the same California bookie as Mizuhara.

"Fletcher, who was Ohtani's teammate [with the Los Angeles Angels] from 2018 to 2023 and has been described as one of his closest friends in baseball, placed bets with the bookmaking operation of Mathew Bowyer, sources said. Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, also bet with Bowyer and eventually stole nearly $17 million from the Japanese superstar to feed his addiction, according to prosecutors."

Fletcher and his friend, former minor leaguer Colby Schultz, are accused on betting on MLB games — including Angels games that Fletcher played in. That is the cardinal sin, of course. The MLB allows players to bet on other sports, but not baseball, and definitely not baseball games in which the player is involved. Oh, and you can't use an illegal bookmaker either. That's a no-no for the league and the Attorney's Office.

Fletcher is now under investigation from the league and he faces a potential ban, not to mention legal repercussions. Safe to say he won't be on the Braves' roster filling in for Austin Riley over the next week.

This is a wild and unpredictable twist. Shohei Ohtani remains innocent, but one can't help but connect the dots between Mizuhara and Fletcher, who were in the same building for years. It's a tough look for the Angels, who are suddenly the epicenter of the biggest sports gambling scandal in years.

Atlanta has other minor-league infielders, such as eight-year MLB vet Leury Garcia, who could be worth a look. Losing Fletcher doesn't really impact the Braves' outlook too much in a vacuum, but it does mean injuries to the infield sting a little bit more than before.