Tyler Skaggs

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of drug distribution resulting in the death of Halos pitcher Tyler Skaggs, Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post was among those to report. Terry Means, a judge in the Northern District of Texas, handed down the sentence.

Kay was convicted by a Fort Worth jury in February of supplying Skaggs with fentanyl that led to his death in July 2019. The Angels were playing a road series against the Rangers at the time.

At the trial, a number of former Halos players testified they’d received opiates from Kay during their time playing in Anaheim. Matt Harvey, who admitted on the witness stand that he’d also supplied Skaggs with a controlled substance, was hit with a 60-game suspension by MLB in May for violating the joint drug agreement. Harvey was granted immunity from criminal prosecution for his testimony, and the trial jury found beyond a reasonable doubt the drugs supplied by Kay were those which caused Skaggs’ death.

The conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. Judge Means announced at the sentencing hearing he went above that minimum after hearing disparaging remarks Kay had made about Skaggs (which are excerpted in the Post’s report) while in prison. Kay’s mother tells Garcia-Roberts his family plans to appeal the conviction.

The tragic passing of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs cast a pall over much of the 2019 MLB season, as fans, teammates, and team employees struggled to make sense of the promising player’s untimely end. Unfortunately, today’s report from ESPN’s T.J. Quinn indicates that the federal investigation into Skaggs’ death is foreshadowing troubling new developments (link).

According to Quinn’s report, an Angels public relations employee named Eric Kay allegedly told federal investigators that he provided Skaggs with oxycodone for several years. Apparently, Kay admitted that two Angels officials were made aware of Skaggs’ drug use “long before his death”, and provided Drug Enforcement Administration agents with the names of five other players who he believed were using opiates while they were Angels. Quinn cites “two sources familiar with the investigation” as the basis for this report.

Kay is accused of also telling investigators that his provision of drugs to Skaggs was part of a longstanding arrangement between the two men, in which Kay would acquire drugs for both he and Skaggs, with Skaggs covering the costs involved. Kay’s attorney, a man named Michael Molfetta, confirmed to Quinn the details of Kay’s statements, which were given in separate meetings with DEA agents in Dallas and Los Angeles in late September.

Unfortunately, this report seems to ally with allegations made by Tyler Skaggs’ family in the immediate aftermath of his death. In late August, the family issued a statement that read: “We were shocked to learn that [Skaggs’s death] may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels. We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them.”

If the details of Quinn’s report are verified over time, then the family’s statement may have been the first missive in a saga that could have far-reaching implications. We have already heard that Major League Baseball and the player’s union are considering new wrinkles in the league’s drug policy, including efforts to prevent opioid-related tragedies like Skaggs’ passing. It remains to be seen what consequences the Los Angeles organization could face if, as alleged in Quinn’s report, team officials were aware of Skaggs’ illicit drug use. Back in late August, an MLB spokesperson indicated to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that the league planned to look into the family’s allegations of team involvement.

Kay is said to have worked as the Director of Communications for the Angels for several years; he is currently in outpatient treatment for substance abuse and has been placed on paid leave from the Angels, according to Quinn’s report.

Skaggs was found dead on Jul 1 in a Dallas-area hotel room, with “alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents” cited as the cause of death by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office. He was 27 years old at the time of his death.

The Tarrant County (Texas) medical examiner’s office has released a toxicology report regarding the untimely death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. As Maria Torres and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times report, the 27-year-old was determined to have died after imbibing a toxic combination of opioids and alcohol.

Specifically, the report found that Skaggs had taken the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone. Thereafter, he died accidentally of “aspiration of gastric contents.”

The Skaggs family has issued a statement on the matter, which remains under investigation by the local police department. Attorney Rusty Hardin has been retained to look into things from the family’s perspective.

In addition to expressing surprise at the manner of death, the family revealed a troubling allegation. The statement reads: “We were shocked to learn that [Skaggs’s death] may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels. We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them.”

It is clear that there will be further examination and investigation of the circumstances leading to Skaggs’s death. An MLB spokesperson tells Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) that the league had not been aware of any allegation of team involvement but will now investigate the matter. Beyond that, speculation would be unwise. It’s a tragedy regardless — one of many linked in recent years to the opioid epidemic.