Los Angeles Angels Star Mike Trout said Tuesday that he loves his teammate Tyler Skaggs like a brother and sees no signs of drug use. before the pitcher died of an overdose in 2019.
Trout, one of the greatest baseball players of his generation, took the stand in a civil trial in California over whether the Angels should be held liable for their former communications director Eric Kaye giving Skaggs a fentanyl pill that led to his death.
Trout spoke in the courtroom about his friendship with Skaggs, which began when the Angels drafted both players out of high school when they were teenagers in 2009. Trout said Skaggs was “very funny, outgoing, fun to be around” and served as the team's DJ.
Trout also said Kay did a good job getting players to do interviews and telling them what questions to ask. At one point, however, Trout said a clubhouse official suggested players stop paying Kay for stunts such as hitting a fastball in the leg, shaving his eyebrows and eating a pimple on Trout's back. The minister was concerned that the money might be used for “bad purposes.”
Trout said he saw Kay acting agitated and sweating, and “the first thing that came to his mind was drugs.” Trout added that it was clear Kay was “using something.”
“I just didn’t know what it was,” Trout told the court, adding that he approached Kay and offered to help him if necessary. Trout was not asked if he told the team about his concerns.
The testimony was given at the trial in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Skaggs' wife Carly and his parents, who allege the Angels made a series of reckless decisions that gave Kay access to players while he was an addict and drug dealer. The team countered that Skaggs also drank heavily and his actions occurred on his own time and in the privacy of his hotel room.
The trial comes more than six years after the 27-year-old was found dead in a Dallas hotel room before the Angels were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers. The coroner's report states that Skaggs choked to death from vomiting and that a toxic mixture 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 was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.. His trial included testimony from five MLB players who said they received oxycodone from Kay at various times from 2017 to 2019, when he was accused of obtaining the pills and giving them to Angels players.
Skaggs' family is seeking $118 million in compensation for the pitcher's lost earnings, pain and suffering, and punitive damages against the team.
Skaggs has been a fixture in the Angels' starting rotation since late 2016 and has battled injuries numerous times during that time. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After Skaggs' death Major League Baseball reached an agreement with the players association to begin testing for opioids and refer those who test positive to a treatment panel.
In addition to Trout, other players, including former Angels pitcher Wade Miley, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Reds, may also testify at the trial, which is expected to last a week in Santa Ana, California.
