Julianna Zobrist requests millions that Ben Zobrist gave up while on leave from Cubs

Former Royals star Ben Zobrist left the Chicago Cubs in early May 2019 for personal reasons, and days later came news that his wife, Julianna Zobrist, had filed for divorce.

The Cubs placed Zobrist on baseball’s restricted list, which meant he wouldn’t receive his salary.

The Chicago Tribune, which obtained pretrial documents ahead of the couple’s divorce trial next month, reported Julianna Zobrist is seeking half of the money Ben Zobrist gave up when he left the Cubs.

“In 2019, he had a contract with the Chicago Cubs for ($12 million), but since he only played for 2 months, his salary was prorated and he only earned ($4.5 million) of the ($12 million) he could have earned,” according to a memorandum filed in Williamson County, Tennessee, by Julianna Zobrist’s attorney, Marlene Eskind Moses of MTR Family Law, the Tribune reported.

According to the paper, the brief contends that Ben Zobrist “intentionally and voluntarily stopped working” and “essentially went from the top of his game to basically giving up, which caused a massive loss in income.”

The Tribune reports Julianna Zobrist is seeking an even split of the marital assets, plus an additional $4 million for the “amount of money he failed to preserve by abruptly and intentionally failing to satisfy his baseball contract.”

Ben Zobrist previously filed a lawsuit claiming Byron Yawn, who at the time was senior pastor and elder at Community Bible Church in Nashville, for allegedly having an affair with Julianna Zobrist.

That lawsuit says Yawn had provided counseling to the couple before and during their marriage. Zobrist is seeking $6 million in damages from Yawn.

Because of that alleged affair, Ben Zobrist’s attorney, Helen S. Rogers of Rogers, Shea and Spanos, wrote in a court filing that Julianna Zobrist’s request for money he gave up with the Cubs is “utterly absurd,” the Tribune reported.

According to the court documents, “Ben Zobrist estimated the total marital estate to be worth $24 million, while Julianna Zobrist values it at just under $31 million,” the Tribune said.

The Tribune story says Julianna Zobrist seeks primary custody of the couple’s children and child support.

The court papers say Ben Zobrist believes Julianna Zobrist overspent from the marital estate by “at least $691,602.86” and is seeking 60% of the couple’s assets, the Tribune said. He wants to split custody of the kids.

Ben Zobrist also accuses Julianna Zobrist and Yawn of destroying or altering evidence, the Tribune said.

You can read more that Tribune story here.