MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol has vigorously defended himself against allegations of domestic assault by a 24-year-old woman in the Dominican Republic.
No criminal charges have been filed against the 30-year-old right-hander, though a civil suit has been filed.
Marmol arrived in training camp Monday and spoke publicly for the first time about the accusations.
He calls them "lies" and says his attorneys are considering a countersuit claiming extortion and seeking jail time for his accuser.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "It is about money. The first thing, when they went to the police, was they asked for money right away. And I know I didn't do anything. . I gave a ride to this girl, and she pretended that I hurt and tried to have sex with her. And I never did that."
Marmol is unsure whether the civil proceedings back home would require him to miss time during spring training to attend hearings.
"They try to hurt me because everybody knows me in the Dominican and in Chicago, too," he said. "They tried to make me scared by trying to hurt my reputation in baseball and my future . (to) get money. But I'm not going to give them my money because I didn't do anything."
The Cubs looked into the allegations when they were first reported and support Marmol's claims.
"All we can do is evaluate it on the merits, and so far what we've seen backs Carlos' story, and we're going to continue to support him," said Theo Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball operations. "And we expect this matter will be behind us shortly, based on the way it's proceeding in the Dominican courts."
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