Major League Baseball confirms an investigation into Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish related to gambling charges against his brother.
Last year the player’s younger brother, Sho, was charged by police in Osaka and accused of running an illegal gambling operation that took bets on MLB and NPB games.
The 29-year-old, Osaka-born Texas Ranger was not charged in connection with his brother’s arrest, but MLB has announced it is looking into the gambling charges nonetheless. The league investigates to see any connections at all between the player and his brother’s gambling concerns.
“We are aware of this situation and are looking into it, per our standard protocols,” MLB’s vice president for communications Michael Teevan told The Japan Times.
Sho Darvish was arrested after a year-long investigation into his gambling operation. Authorities allege that the younger Darvish took up to 1,850 wagers on American and Japanese baseball games. It is not yet clear if any of those games were on his brother’s Texas team. Sho has a past criminal record.
Yu Darvish spent the 2015 season on the injured list after reconstructive surgery on his pitching arm, so he would not have been in a position to affect the out come of any Rangers games, but he could have offered inside information on MLB games, authorities said.
The MLB spokesman noted that the investigation is “ongoing” but he could not offer any information other than to confirm the league was looking into the charges.
Along with a long list of awards and titles in the Japanese baseball league, Darvish was the American League strikeout leader in 2013 and a three time All-Star from 2012 to 2014. The Texas Rangers signed Darvish to a six-year, $60 million contract in 2012.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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