FILE - Carli Skaggs, widow of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, center, speaks with attorney Rusty Hardin before opening statements in the trial for the wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Angels baseball team of being responsible for the 2019 drug overdose death Skaggs Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif.
FILE - Attorney Todd Theodora gestures before opening statements in the trial for the wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Angels baseball team of being responsible for the 2019 drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif.
FILE - In this June 29, 2019, file photo, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs throws to an Oakland Athletics batter during a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif.
FILE - Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout gestures toward a photo of Tyler Skaggs in center field prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Anaheim, Calif., on July 29, 2019.
FILE - Carli Skaggs, widow of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, center, speaks with attorney Rusty Hardin before opening statements in the trial for the wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Angels baseball team of being responsible for the 2019 drug overdose death Skaggs Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif.
FILE - Attorney Todd Theodora gestures before opening statements in the trial for the wrongful death lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Angels baseball team of being responsible for the 2019 drug overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Closing arguments began Monday in a trial over whether the Los Angeles Angels should be held responsible for the fatal drug overdose of pitcher Tyler Skaggs after a team employee gave him the fentanyl-laced pill that led to his death.
The long-running civil trial in a Southern California courtroom has included testimony from Angels and the team’s president, John Carpino, as well as Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents.
The trial comes six years after Skaggs died on a team trip to Texas after taking drugs provided by team communications director Eric Kay. Skaggs’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit contending the MLB team knew or should have known Kay was addicted to drugs and dealing to players. At the same time, Angels’ lawyers have said club officials didn’t realize Skaggs took drugs, and any activity involving Skaggs and Kay happened on their own time and in the privacy of the player’s hotel room.
Skaggs, a 27-year-old left-handed pitcher, 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 in 2019. A coroner’s report said the player choked to death on his vomit, and a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.
Kay was of providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl and sentenced to in 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.
During the civil trial that began in October, witnesses have described Kay’s erratic behavior at the stadium and incidents that led to his attending rehab before he headed out on the trip to Texas with the team. Kay’s now-ex-wife, told jurors the Angels failed her then-husband, who worked lengthy hours, and that during his 2019 hospitalization for a drug overdose, she heard he had pills intended for Skaggs.
Last week, Carpino and said he wished he had known sooner about the drug use by both Skaggs and Kay.
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.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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