Major League Baseball is investigating Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish after his brother, Sho, was arrested in Japan on gambling charges.
"We are aware of this situation and are looking into it, per our standard protocols," said Michael Teevan, MLB’s vice president for communications, in a statement to the Japan Times' Jack Gallagher.
Darvish released a statement on the investigation, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "I am not and have never been involved with gambling activities. While I understand Major League Baseball must conduct an investigation, I am certain that they will find that I had no involvement in this matter whatsoever."
As of yet, Yu Darvish hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing.
According to Gallagher, Sho Darvish is alleged to have run a gambling ring that took bets on MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball games, collecting roughly 18.5 million yen (roughly $157,000) from 1,850 wagers.
It's unknown whether any bets on Rangers games were involved, and neither police in Osaka nor MLB have connected Yu Darvish to the alleged ring in a direct way.
The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant doesn't believe MLB's involvement is a worrying sign:
Although Darvish missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, author Robert Whiting—who has written about Japanese baseball—hypothesized to Gallagher that Darvish might have unintentionally supplied insider information to his brother as part of their normal everyday conversation.
Should Yu Darvish be found to have been active in the ring, MLB won't be afraid to drop the hammer on the three-time All-Star.
Pete Rose was banned for life in 1989 by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti for gambling on games. Current commissioner Rob Manfred's decision to deny Rose reinstatement illustrates how seriously the league continues to take the issue.
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