Opening statements expected in trial over LA Angels’ alleged role in pitcher Skaggs’ overdose death

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Opening statements were expected Tuesday in the trial for the wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Angels of being responsible for the 2019 drug overdose death of one of its star pitchers.

Lawyers for the Angels and the family of Tyler Skaggs are expected to address the jury in the long-awaited civil trial over whether the MLB team should be held responsible after one of its employees was convicted of providing drugs that led to the pitcher’s overdose on a team trip to Texas.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents, alleges the Southern California team knew or should have known that its communications director, Eric Kay, was supplying drugs to Skaggs and at least six other Angels players. Kay had a lengthy history of drug abuse and went to rehab while working for the team, which had many athletes who were playing through injuries and pain, according to the lawsuit.

The Angels contend that despite Kay’s conviction, the autopsy results showed Skaggs had also been drinking and taking oxycodone when he died, and was snorting painkillers instead of taking them as they would be prescribed. The team also argues that Skaggs and Kay were off duty and the player’s actions in the privacy of his hotel room could not have been prevented by the Angels.

The civil case in a Santa Ana courtroom — which seeks hundreds of millions of dollars — comes more than six years after 27-year-old Skaggs was found dead in the suburban Dallas hotel room where he was staying as the Angels were supposed to open a four-game series against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report says Skaggs choked to death on his vomit and that a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.

Kay was convicted in 2022 of providing Skaggs with an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. His federal criminal trial in Texas included testimony from five MLB players who said they received oxycodone from Kay at various times from 2017 to 2019, the years he was accused of obtaining pills and giving them to Angels players.

After Skaggs’ death, the MLB reached a deal with the players association to start testing for opioids and to refer those who test positive to the treatment board. The United States has been grappling with a wave of overdose deaths, many due to the potency of fentanyl, among young people, with overdoses reported as the leading cause of death for people 18-44 years old in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Skaggs had been a regular in the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016, when the left-hander returned from Tommy John surgery. He struggled with injuries repeatedly during that time.

Before pitching for the Angels, Skaggs played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The trial is expected to take weeks and could include testimony from players including Angels outfielder Mike Trout and the team’s former pitcher, Wade Miley, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds.