SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is planning to testify Tuesday in a lawsuit over whether the MLB team should be held responsible for the drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Trout, a three-time American League who hit his 400th career home run this year, is expected to take the stand in a Southern California courtroom and speak about his with Skaggs, who died on a team trip to Texas in 2019 after taking a fentanyl-laced pill he got from Angels communication director Eric Kay. Trout could also be asked about what he knew of Kay’s drug use at the time.
The testimony will come in the for a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ wife, Carli, and his parents seeking to hold the Angels’ responsible for his death. The family contends the Angels made a series of reckless decisions that gave Kay access to MLB players when he was addicted to drugs and dealing them; the team has countered that Skaggs was also drinking heavily and his actions occurred on his own time and in the privacy of his hotel room when he died.
During opening statements, a lawyer for the Skaggs family said Trout was aware of Kay’s drug problem and had offered to pay for him to attend rehab. Other players including former Angels pitcher Wade Miley, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds, could also testify during what is expected to be a weeks-long trial in Santa Ana, Calif.
The civil case comes more than six years after 27-year-old Skaggs was 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 of providing Skaggs with an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to 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.
The family is seeking $118 million for Skaggs’ lost earnings, compensation for pain and suffering and punitive damages against the team.
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 and to refer those who test positive to the treatment board.
