Angels reach settlement with family of Tyler Skaggs

The Los Angeles Angels reached a confidential settlement with the family of former pitcher Tyler Skaggs on Friday, resolving a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit tied to his fatal overdose in 2019, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. The agreement ended a civil trial in Orange County, California, after jurors had deliberated for more than two days and submitted questions indicating the case could be decided in favor of the Skaggs family. The financial terms were not disclosed.

“The Skaggs family has reached a confidential settlement with Angels Baseball that brings to a close a difficult six-year process, allowing our families to focus on healing,” the family said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to the members of this jury, and to our legal team. Their engagement and focus gave us faith, and now we have finality. This trial exposed the truth, and we hope Major League Baseball will now do its part in holding the Angels accountable. While nothing can bring Tyler back, we will continue to honor his memory.”

Skaggs, who spent five seasons with Los Angeles after two years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, died at age 27 on July 1, 2019, during the Angels’ road trip in Texas. He was found in his hotel room hours before the team was scheduled to open a series against the Texas Rangers. A toxicology report determined that Skaggs died from a combination of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone intoxication, with the official cause listed as terminal aspiration of gastric contents.

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay later admitted to providing Skaggs with pills, including a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl. In February 2022, a federal jury in Texas convicted Kay of distributing controlled substances resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute. Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. Testimony during Kay’s criminal trial included statements from multiple MLB players who said they received oxycodone from Kay between 2017 and 2019.

The Skaggs family, widow Carli Skaggs, and his parents filed the civil lawsuit in June 2021, seeking $118 million in lost future earnings, along with additional damages for emotional loss and punitive damages. During the trial, baseball wage experts testified that Skaggs’ potential lost career earnings ranged from approximately $21 million to nearly $125 million, while defense experts estimated the figure at no more than $32 million. Jurors later indicated, according to the jury foreman, that they had agreed internally on an award of around $100 million before deliberations were halted due to the settlement.

The trial lasted for roughly three months and featured 31 days of courtroom proceedings, testimony from 44 witnesses, and more than 300 exhibits. Witnesses included Angels players such as Mike Trout, team executives, medical and wage experts, and relatives of both Skaggs and Kay. Jurors were instructed to consider up to 26 questions addressing negligence and responsibility, with nine of 12 jurors required to agree on each finding.

Central to the case was whether the Angels knew or should have known that Kay was distributing unprescribed opioids to players. The family argued the organization failed to monitor or discipline Kay despite signs of drug abuse, while the Angels maintained Kay acted outside the scope of his employment and that Skaggs concealed his substance use. The team also argued Skaggs had a prior addiction to painkillers before joining the Angels in 2013.

The settlement avoided a verdict that could have made the Angels the first U.S. professional sports franchise held civilly liable for a player’s death. However, Major League Baseball has said it will review trial testimony, with Commissioner Rob Manfred previously indicating that potential league discipline remains under consideration.