MLB, major sportsbooks to limit prop bets on pitches amid Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz gambling scandal

Major League Baseball announced on Monday that major sportsbooks will place a $200 limit on pitch-level microbets as well as exclude them from potential parlays. The news comes just a day after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, starter Luis L. Ortiz and closer Emmanuel Clase, were indicted on a bevy of charges related to manipulating specific pitches for betting purposes. 

"Since the Supreme Court decision opened the door to legalized sports betting, Major League Baseball has continuously worked with industry and regulatory stakeholders across the country to uphold our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

The Department of Justice has alleged that Clase and Ortiz repeatedly altered a pitch's velocity or outcome in coordination with bettors and that, "in some instances, the defendants received bribes and kickback payments ... in exchange for rigging pitches."

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MLB's statement notes the belief that the "creation of a strict bet limit on this type of bet, and the ban on parlaying them, reduces the payout for these markets and the ability to circumvent the new limit."

Casey Brett, MLB's senior vice president of business operations, previously talked to CBS Sports' Matt Snyder about the steps the league took to protect the game's integrity during this era of legalized sports gambling.

"[Sportsbooks] are required to help us with investigations and notify us if they feel like some sort of fishy information is happening," Brett said. "Like if a large amount of money was placed on this event that doesn't make sense, they are required to exchange that information."

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Ortiz and Clase may face up to 65 years in jail if they're convicted on all counts, which includes wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. 

Professional baseball and improper gambling conduct have a lengthy, oft-sordid history.