Angels to depict Tyler Skaggs as cunning drug addict at ongoing trial

Fans of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs may want to cover their ears when the wrongful death lawsuit filed by his widow and parents against the Angels resumes Monday.

The Angels are set to present their defense and, according to people familiar with the Angels’ strategy, their lawyers plan to portray Skaggs as a selfish, secretive opioid addict who for years manipulated his teammates and the team’s communications director, Eric Kay, into obtaining illicit pills to chop and snort.

Skaggs, a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2009 out of Santa Monica High, was a year removed from his free agent status when he died of an overdose on July 1, 2019. He died after snorting a counterfeit opioid pill containing fentanyl in his hotel room during an Angels trip to play the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

The left-handed starter was 27 and in the midst of his best season of seven in the big leagues when he died. His performance was pointed to by Skaggs family lawyers as proof that he was not a drug addict, but rather an athlete who took painkillers to stay on the field.

So far, testimony in a small, spare courtroom on the ninth floor of Orange County Superior Court has favored the plaintiffs — Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents, Debbie Hetman and Darrell Skaggs.

Their lawyers called 21 witnesses over 24 days in court, trying to establish that the pitcher’s fatal overdose was the result of the Angels’ negligent supervision of Kay, an admitted longtime opioid addict who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for providing the pill to Skaggs.

The plaintiffs are seeking approximately $120 million in future earnings plus millions more for pain, suffering and punitive damages. Neither side is optimistic that a settlement can be reached before a verdict.

Transcripts of trial testimony and interviews with people from both sides not authorized to speak publicly about the case provided insight into the Angels’ defense strategy and what the plaintiffs have accomplished so far.

The Angels reduced their witness list at the request of Judge H. Shaina Cover, who insisted that the case go to the jury by December 15. The Angels have complained that two weeks might not be long enough to present their case, giving the plaintiffs an unfair advantage, even suggesting the issue could lead to a mistrial.

Skaggs’ lawyers, however, pointed out that the defense took longer to cross-examine the witnesses than it took them to conduct direct examinations. And Cover explained that the difference in the number of witnesses was because 12 people named by Skaggs’ lawyers were on both sides’ witness lists.

Like an MLB manager building a lineup, Skaggs’ attorneys led by Rusty Hardin were single-minded in the order in which they presented witnesses. They began their argument by calling a series of Angels executives to undermine the team’s claim that they knew nothing about Kay’s addiction. Key witnesses refuting these denials included Kay’s wife Camela and Hetman.

Skaggs’ lawyers also presented text messages indicating that Kay’s supervisor, Tim Mead, and the Angels’ traveling secretary, Tom Taylor, not only knew of Kay’s addiction but failed to act decisively to isolate him, put him in rehab or terminate his employment.

The plaintiffs called witnesses to establish that not only were the Angels negligent in how they handled Kay’s addiction, but that they put her interests ahead of those of other employees and the organization by allowing her to continue working despite her bizarre behavior at work.

The final witness in court who was suspended until Dec. 1 was human resources expert Ramona Powell, who said the Angels failed to follow their own policies in evaluating and responding to Kay’s behavior. She said if the team had done so, Kay could have been fired well before 2019.

Expect Angels lead attorney Todd Theodora to counter that Skaggs breached his contract and was guilty of fraud by hiding his drug problem for years. Additionally, Skaggs allegedly continued to pressure Kay into providing him with opioids even after Kay completed rehab shortly before the fateful trip to Texas.

During opening arguments, Schuyler said the Angels “know right from wrong,” but he is expected to argue that the case is more about what the team didn’t know. Kay and Skaggs were described as being masters at hiding their drug use. The Angels say if the team had known about their addiction, authorities could have provided them with treatment and maybe Skaggs would be alive.

Testimony has already established that the Angels immediately informed MLB that Kay had told co-worker Adam Chodzko that he was in Skaggs’ hotel room the night the pitcher died. Expect the Angels’ lawyers to go further and argue that Kay may not have been prosecuted if the Angels had not acted so quickly.

Witnesses expected to be called by the defense include Angels president John Carpino and former MLB general manager Dan Duquette. The jury will watch video of depositions given by former Angels players CJ Cron, Matt Harvey, Cam Bedrosian and Blake Parker if they cannot testify in person.

Player testimony can go either way, as evidenced by statements made by two players who testified for the plaintiffs — current Angels outfielder and three-time MVP Mike Trout and former relief pitcher Mike Morin.

Trout testified that Skaggs was “like a brother” to him, that he cried when told he was dead and had no idea of ​​his drug use. But Trout also demurred when asked if he offered to pay for Kay’s rehabilitation, saying he simply told her he would help in any way he could.

Morin, who pitched for the Angels from 2014-17, said Kay sold him opioids “five to eight times” after an arm injury made him desperate to overcome the pain and return to the mound. Yet under cross-examination, Morin acknowledged that Skaggs was responsible for his own actions.

Carpino is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Angels and his office is adjacent to those of Mead, Taylor and formerly Kay. Duquette, former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, is expected to testify that Skaggs’ future career earnings would not have exceeded $30 million because of his drug use and injury history.

Skaggs’ lawyers called income expert Jeff Fannell, a former employment lawyer for the MLB Players Assn., who said Skaggs would have earned between $109 million and $120 million and could still pitch.