The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to narrowly consider Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption.

The filing was made in a case involving four eliminated minor league teams hoping to end the sport's century-old legal protection.

MLB cut the minimum guaranteed minor league affiliation agreements from 160 to 120 in September 2020 and took over running the minors from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which had been in charge since 1901.