Zobrist was given a leave of absence for personal reasons Wednesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Neither the nature of the issue nor the expected length of Zobrist's absence is known. His absence clears a spot for Addison Russell to be recalled in a corresponding move.<doc-sep>Ben Zobrist plans to remain on leave from the Chicago Cubs while going through a divorce from professional singer Julianna Zobrist. Slideshow ( 4 images ) Julianna Zobrist, 34, provided no reason for seeking a divorce in her petition filed Monday, according to Cook County court filings. Ben Zobrist listed “inappropriate marital conduct” as the basis for the couple’s separation in the county divorce court filing. Ben Zobrist, 37, was granted an extended leave of absence last week. It’s not known how long the three-time All-Star will be away from the team. Cubs manager Joe Maddon would say only that Zobrist is dealing with a “family matter.” --The Minnesota Twins placed catcher Mitch Garver on the 10-day injured list due to a high left ankle sprain and reinstated infielder Miguel Sano. Garver sustained the injury in the eighth inning of the Twins’ 4-3 victory against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday when Shohei Ohtani slid into his planted foot at the plate. Garver, 28, is batting .329 with nine homers and 19 RBIs in 25 games this season. Sano, 26, replaces Garver on the 25-man roster and could make his 2019 debut this week. --The Atlanta Braves promoted top prospect Austin Riley. The 22-year-old third baseman had homered 13 times in his past 18 games at Triple-A Gwinnett, including a grand slam Tuesday at Buffalo. He was batting .299 with 15 homers, 39 RBIs and 32 runs in 37 games. Center fielder Ender Inciarte was placed on the 10-day injured list due to lower back tightness. Riley has been blocked at third base in Atlanta by Josh Donaldson, but Inciarte’s injury opens a spot for him in left field with Ronald Acuna Jr. shifting to center. --The Texas Rangers placed shortstop Elvis Andrus on the 10-day injured list because of a right hamstring strain. The two-time All-Star sustained the injury while running out a ground ball during the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s 11-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Andrus, 30, is batting .325 with six homers, 26 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 38 games this season. The Rangers also recalled outfielder Willie Calhoun and left-hander Jeffrey Springs from Triple-A Nashville, and they optioned right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang to Nashville. --Left-hander Cole Ragans, the Texas Rangers’ first-round pick in 2016, is having his second career Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. The 21-year-old has not pitched since 2017 and was close to a return when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. He began feeling discomfort about a week ago. Ranked as the club’s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Ragans had his first surgery in March 2017. The 6-foot-4 pitcher made 13 starts at Class-A Spokane in 2017, posting a 3.61 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>CHICAGO (CBS) — Cubs infielder Addison Russell is returning to the field tonight following a 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, the Cubs confirmed Wednesday. The Cubs said Wednesday during a press conference Russell will start tonight’s game against the Marlins at second base. Another surprise announcement was revealed Wednesday in the locker room when the Cubs said Ben Zobrist was granted a leave of absence for “personal reasons.” The #Cubs today announced the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/4MAHuJNFVE — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 8, 2019 Of greater concern than Addison's arrival is the sudden departure of @benzobrist18 for undisclosed personal reasons (leave of absence). Jason Heyward: "It's a long list of things you're gonna miss when Ben Zobrist is not around." #Cubs — Ryan Baker (@RyanBakerMedia) May 8, 2019 Accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Russell in February called his “past behaviors wrong and unacceptable.” #Cubs Theo Epstein on Addison Russell back with team: pic.twitter.com/yDAsPNGGEa — Megan Mawicke (@MeganMawicke) May 8, 2019 Addison Russell is starting at 2nd base tonight. @cbschicago — Megan Mawicke (@MeganMawicke) May 8, 2019 “I just want to own that what I did was wrong, and inexcusable, and I’m sorry; sorry for the pain and hurt that I put Melisa through.” In December 2018, after their divorce, Russell’s ex-wife, Melisa Reidy said Russell had kicked down a bedroom door, ripped their infant son from her arms, grabbed her by the shirt and threw her across the room. The Cubs reacted with the 40-game suspension. Last week Russell, 25, said he was focused on “trying to become a better person.” During the suspension, Russell had been working out in Arizona, playing in extended spring training games and meeting with a counselor twice a week before joining Triple-A Iowa. Russel addressed the media Wednesday. “Overall, I feel like I’m a better person, hearing from my family and friends and teammates that I have improved is reassurance,” Russell said. Russell said he is continuing therapy and he has a long road ahead. “I’m committed to this,” he said. Russell said he is happy to have this second opportunity. He said he has worked really hard to get to this point. “I just want to be here to help this team win,” Russell said. “I won’t take this for granted.” Russell was once considered one of baseball’s top young infielders. He helped the Cubs win the World Series three years ago, batting .238 with 21 homers and 95 RBIs in 151 games as the team snapped a 108-year championship drought. Cubs owner Theo Epstein said Russell was being given a “conditional second chance,” and that the list of conditions was extensive. #Cubs Theo Epstein says he’s been involved in Addison Russell’s treatment … more on Russell’s return. ⁦@cbschicago⁩ pic.twitter.com/bJZk1ZRMed — Megan Mawicke (@MeganMawicke) May 8, 2019 Referring to his personal life, Epstein said Russell faces a “long road ahead.” When speaking about Russell and Zobrist, Manager Joe Maddon said “you don’t run away quickly because something has gone awry.” He said they are family. The Associated Press contributed to this story.<doc-sep>
The Cubs will be without their former World Series MVP for a little while. Ben Zobrist was granted a leave of absence for a personal matter, hitting the restricted list Wednesday afternoon. There is no timetable for his return and the Cubs won't divulge details about the off-field issue. Zobrist was originally penciled into the Cubs' lineup Tuesday night, hitting eighth and playing left field. But he was scratched about an hour before the game for a "personal matter" and has not been around the team since. He also reported a few days late to spring training for a personal matter in February. "The only thing appropriate for me to communicate is he's requested a leave of absence from the team for personal/family reasons," Theo Epstein said Wednesday afternoon. "That leave was granted and he'll be away from the team for a period of time. If and when it's appropriate for him to provide further detail or clarification, he will." Zobrist turns 38 later this month and is in the last year of his deal with the Cubs. He spent the last couple weeks of April marred in a slump, but was showing signs of coming out of it lately, going 5-for-14 (.357) with 5 RBI, 5 walks and 5 runs in his last 5 games. He was also playing really solid defense in the outfield, including some spectacular plays against the Cardinals over the weekend. Still, he hasn't looked quite like vintage Zobrist yet this year (only 1 extra-base hit) and Joe Maddon believes the off-field issues may have played a role. "It could have, yeah," Maddon said. "He would be the first to admit that maybe he wasn't quite himself. We're just wanting this to work out well for him, obviously, and just be patient with the whole thing." Zobrist's absence and Daniel Descalso's ankle injury prompted the Cubs to call up Addison Russell a week earlier than they originally planned. Russell started at second base and batted eight in Wednesday's game.