The widow of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs testified in court Monday about the morning in 2019 when she received a call from the team’s general manager.
Carli Skaggs said she was unsettled when her husband did not reply after she sent several text messages. The call from the team’s general manager came the following morning — Tyler had been found unresponsive in a hotel room during a road trip in Texas.
Skaggs had died at age 27. A coroner’s report said Skaggs choked to death on his vomit and a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.
Carli Skaggs emotional testimony recounting their love story came in the sixth week of a civil trial for a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ family. Angels’ communication director Eric Kay was convicted of providing a fentanyl-laced pill that led to the death of Skaggs. He was later sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.
Family members contend in the lawsuit that the Angels should be held responsible for letting a drug-addicted and dealing employee stay on the job and access its players. The Angels say team officials did not know Skaggs was taking drugs and that any drug activity involving him and Kay happened on their own time and in the privacy of the player’s hotel room.
On the stand for the first time in the trial, Carli Skaggs said she and Tyler — they married in 2018 — smoked marijuana, but that she was not aware of his other drug use.
The couple had just bought a house together and were working with an architect to design a home where they could raise a family.
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.
Skaggs’ family is seeking $118 million in lost earnings, compensation for pain and suffering and punitive damages against the team.
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 trial is expected to take weeks and has included testimony from Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Kay’s ex-wife.
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