Miguel Cabrera's paternity suit gets ugly: Ex-mistress wants more money

With spring training just weeks away, Detroit Tiger slugger Miguel Cabrera is battling a stubborn, legal migraine that's been lingering since last season: a paternity suit filed by an ex-mistress who is suing for more money.

The woman claims Cabrera owes her more in child support and wants it now. He says he's giving her plenty — at least $12,000 a month for two kids.

The timing of the drama couldn't be worse.

Cabrera has two court hearings in Florida this month -- one of them on the eve of spring training — all while he's gearing up to prove that his back injuries have healed and he's stronger than ever, as the Tigers have claimed.

The first hearing is Friday morning, during which Cabrera's lawyer will fight to keep his client's ex-mistress from obtaining the baseball star's financial records. Cabrera also hopes to convince a judge on Friday to keep the media out of all future court hearings, noting that both sides have already entered into a confidentiality agreement "to protect the privacy rights of both parties and the minor children."

"The father believes it is in the best interests of the parties and the minor children to minimize opportunities for the media to continue to report about this matter," Cabrera's lawyer, Ben Hodas, wrote in a December filing that seeks to keep Cabrera's court hearings private.

That next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12.

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Miguel Cabrera's wife filed for divorce, changed mind amid mistress scandal

Here's the personal drama hanging over Cabrera's head as he heads to Lakeland, Fla., for the start of what the Tigers have promised will be a more fruitful season for the two-time American League MVP.

In the wake of Cabrera's batting woes last August, a Florida woman named Belkis Rodriguez, 35, sued Cabrera for child support, claiming he wasn't paying her enough for the two children he fathered during a secretive, years-long relationship. The boy is 4; the girl is 2.

The suit surfaced at the end of what would become Cabrera's career-worst season in which he hit .249 with just 16 home runs and 60 RBIs. Adding to his personal woes, five months before the paternity suit hit, Cabrera's wife, Rosangel, filed for divorce but later changed her mind about splitting up.It is not known whether Cabrera's wife knew about his affair, or the children he fathered with the Florida woman.

Meanwhile, Cabrera has denied holding out on the children he had with Rodriguez, arguing he pays at least $12,000 a month in child support and helped her buy a nearly $1 million mansion in a gated community and a Range Rover. But Rodriguez argues that under Florida's child support guidelines, she's entitled to up to $120,000 a month given Cabrera's $30 million salary.

Since the lawsuit was filed six months ago, the two sides have been trying to reach a settlement, though they aren't getting anywhere if court filings are any indication.

On Feb. 12, a judge will take up Rodriguez's request for temporary relief, essentially an order that would require Cabrera pay her more money in child support pending the outcome of the case. But the case has hit a wall, in part because Rodriguez is seeking access to financial records that Cabrera claims are none of her business, such as how much money he spends on the children he has with his wife.

On Friday, Cabrera's lawyer will ask a judge to block Rodriguez from obtaining access to the baseball star's financials. According to court records, Rodriguez -- who believes her children are entitled to the same standard of living as Cabrera's children with his wife -- wants know how much money Cabrera spends on the following:

Tuition and extracurricular activities for his children

Family vacations

Birthday parties, birthday gifts, private lessons, lunch money, field trips

Clothing, entertainment and makeup

Organizations or clubs and college plans

Meanwhile, Cabrera is also trying to obtain Rodriguez's financial records, claiming he has a right to see where she is spending her money and how. He has subpoenaed her bank records, cancelled checks and other financial documents, though Rodriguez claims he's not entitled the information and wants him blocked from getting it.

In court records, Cabrera also has expressed concern with Rodriguez's online behavior, including posts on Facebook in which she took photos of herself at his baseball games.

"(Rodriguez) has demonstrated behavior in the past that gives (Cabrera) concern for (Rodriguez's) willingness to keep (his) personal life private, through verbal statements and on social media," Hodas, Cabrera's lawyer, has written in court documents.

Since last fall, Rodriguez has removed numerous photos of her children from her Facebook page -- or perhaps made them private. Currently, her Facebook page includes photos of her vacationing on an island with white buildings, wearing a bikini on a boat, blowing kisses in front of the Eiffel Tower and several selfies.

In court documents, Cabrera's lawyer has painted Rodriguez as a shakedown artist who is trying to extort his client out of alimony she isn't entitled to.

Rodriguez's lawyers have called Cabrera's extortion claims "egregiously false."

"She has never attempted to 'extort' (Cabrera) for unreasonable sums of money in the hopes of securing 'alimony' for herself," wrote Terry Young, whose top-drawer Orlando law firm is representing Rodriguez. "These minor children have done nothing wrong and certainly deserve the appropriate support from their father as Florida law requires."

Young, who declined to talk to the Free Press, also attacked Cabrera's characterization of his client.

"(Cabrera) attempts to portray (the) mother as some villainous criminal attempting to 'extort' him for money ... when just the opposite is the case," Young has written. "(She) has made every attempt to work with (the) father over the years regarding child support."

The Tigers have declined comment on Cabrera's paternity suit.

As Tigers General Manager Al Avila has said: “I’m not going to address any of his personal issues because those are all personal."

But as for Cabrera's return to the plate, Avila has said: "I fully expect a fully healthy Miguel Cabrera to come back and getting back to producing.”

Tresa Baldas can be reached at tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas