Explanation for changing storylines in Shohei Ohtani interpreter scandal only makes it weirder

Among the many oddities surrounding the gambling scandal involving longtime interpreter and friend of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara, is how quickly the account of things changed. 

If the varying storylines weren't strange enough, the explanation revealed for the wishy-washy timeline only makes things weirder. 

On Thursday, a source close to Ohtani gave ESPN's Tisha Thompson a reason for the abrupt shift. 

"As Ohtani's handlers tried to determine what had happened, they initially relied solely on Mizuhara, who continued to translate for Ohtani," Thompson wrote. 

The comment insinuates that Mizuhara, the key figure involved, was the only Japanese speaker in Ohtani's circle who could translate the details of an extremely serious situation. While this might indeed be true, it's not hard to find that detail odd as well. 

That extra tidbit is one of many that have surfaced over the 24 hours or so since the story rocked the baseball world. 

Initially, Mizuhara claimed in an interview with ESPN that Ohtani was aware of his troubles and wired money to a bookmaker to help his buddy out. Then, once word of Mizuhara's firing emerged, his story changed. 

Suddenly, Ohtani had "no knowledge" of his interpreter's dealings. Furthermore, he only became aware of the theft of roughly $4.5M of his money when Mizuhara confessed Thursday inside the Dodgers clubhouse. 

As hard as it is to believe that the Dodgers would embarrass its star by breaking such sensitive news in front of his teammates, it's even harder to think he overlooked such a large chunk of money as if it were a forgotten Netflix account. 

Further muddying the waters is the connection between Mizuhara and bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who is under federal investigation. According to ESPN, bank information showed two wire payments of $500K from Ohtani's account to an associate of Bowyer, but there may be more. 

Another detail that creates questions is why Bowyer would allow an interpreter making a couple hundred thousand dollars a year to run up millions in debt. The reasoning for that is also suspicious. 

Allegedly, Bowyer dealt only with Mizuhara but was aware the money transfers came from Ohtani's account and even bragged that the Dodgers slugger was a client. 

Ohtani's representatives have asked law enforcement to investigate, so this is only the beginning of what's bound to be one of the most talked-about stories in sports. 

However, an already complicated situation is seemingly becoming even more absurd with every morsel of information revealed.