HEADLINE

Ex-Angels employee indicted in Skaggs’ death

Field Level Media

October 16, 2020 at 6:31 pm.

A former Los Angeles Angels employee was indicted in the 2019 overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

Eric Kay, who worked in the team’s media relations department for 24 years, is charged in the indictment with distributing the drug fentanyl that caused Skaggs’ death. A federal grand jury in Texas, where Skaggs died, returned the indictment, which was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed a criminal complaint against Kay in August, charging him with illegal possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He was arrested that month but has yet to enter a plea.

Skaggs was 27 when he died July 1, 2019, in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas. The Angels were in town to play the Texas Rangers, and an autopsy later showed he died of aspiration and had a combination of oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol in his system.

Skaggs pitched seven seasons in the major leagues, the first two with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2012-13) and the rest with the Angels (2014, 2016-19). The left-hander had a career record of 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 starts.