Closing arguments underway in trial over Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ drug overdose death

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Closing arguments began Monday in a trial over whether the Los Angeles Angels should be held responsible for the fatal drug overdose of pitcher Tyler Skaggs after a team employee gave him the fentanyl-laced pill that led to his death.

The long-running civil trial in a Southern California courtroom has included testimony from Angels outfielder Mike Trout and the team’s president, John Carpino, as well as Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents.

The trial comes six years after Skaggs died on a team trip to Texas after taking drugs provided by team communications director Eric Kay. Skaggs’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit contending the MLB team knew or should have known Kay was addicted to drugs and dealing to players. At the same time, Angels’ lawyers have said club officials didn’t realize Skaggs took drugs, and any activity involving Skaggs and Kay happened on their own time and in the privacy of the player’s hotel room.

Skaggs, a 27-year-old left-handed pitcher, 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 in 2019. A coroner’s report said the player choked to death on his vomit, and a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.

Kay was convicted in 2022 of providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to 22 years in 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.

During the civil trial that began in October, witnesses have described Kay’s erratic behavior at the stadium and incidents that led to his attending rehab before he headed out on the trip to Texas with the team. Kay’s now-ex-wife, Camela Kay, told jurors the Angels failed her then-husband, who worked lengthy hours, and that during his 2019 hospitalization for a drug overdose, she heard he had pills intended for Skaggs.

Last week, Carpino took the stand and said he wished he had known sooner about the drug use by both Skaggs and Kay.

Skaggs had been a regular in the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016 and struggled with injuries repeatedly during that time. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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.