Court documents accuse ex-Angels employee gave Tyler Skaggs drugs that killed him

Federal prosecutors are filing charges against a former Los Angeles Angels employee in connection with the death of Tyler Skaggs.

Over a year after his sudden death, the family of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs got a step closer to answers, closure, and justice.

On Friday, federal prosecutors filed charges against former Angels employee Eric Kay in connection with the death of Skaggs back in 2019. According to court documents, it was discovered that Kay distributed fentanyl to Skaggs which authorities believe caused the pitcher to overdose.

Perhaps the most damning and tragic revelation from the court documents is the belief by authorities that had fentanyl not been given to Skaggs, he would not have died.

“It was later determined that but for the fentanyl in [Skaggs’] system, [Skaggs] would not have died,” the document reads.

Court documents detailed text messages that were sent between Skaggs and Kay, and a section of the affidavit revealed that investigators discovered Kay distributed pills to Skaggs and other unidentified people while conducting work for the Angels.

In the wake of the revelations coming to light, and with the legal process now officially beginning, the Angels released a statement Friday morning acknowledging the developments in the case:

The fallout from this could be seismic for the Angels, who employed the person who gave a fatal dose of opioids to a player but also conducted other drug deals while on the clock. First and foremost is justice for the Skaggs family, but this is a case that likely won’t end when a ruling is made against Kay.

Skaggs died last July while the Angels were in Texas to play the Rangers, and a week later the team honored his memory by wearing his uniform in their first home game since his death. In that game, the Angels collectively threw a no-hitter and paid tribute to Skaggs by everyone placing their uniform on the pitcher’s mound in his honor.