Angels plan to portray Tyler Skaggs as a cunning addict as high-stakes wrongful death trial continues

"The Angels are about to present their defense and, according to people with knowledge of the Angels' strategy, their attorneys plan to portray Skaggs as a selfish, secretive opioid addict who for years manipulated teammates and team communications director Eric Kay into obtaining illicit pills for him to chop up and snort. Skaggs, a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2009 out of Santa Monica High, was one year away from free agency when he died of an overdose July 1, 2019."

"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 has been pointed to by Skaggs family lawyers as evidence he wasn't a drug addict, but instead an athlete who took pain pills to stay on the field. So far, testimony in a small, spare courtroom on the ninth floor of the Orange County Superior Court has favored the plaintiffs - Skaggs' widow, Carli, and parents, Debbie Hetman and Darrell Skaggs."

Angels attorneys plan to portray Tyler Skaggs as a manipulative, secretive opioid addict who enlisted teammates and team communications director Eric Kay to obtain illicit pills he chopped and snorted. Skaggs died at 27 on July 1, 2019, after snorting a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl in his hotel room during a road trip. His family contends the Angels negligently failed to supervise Kay, an admitted longtime opioid addict now serving 22 years, and seeks $120 million plus additional pain, suffering, and punitive damages. Plaintiffs called 21 witnesses over 24 days; the trial is in the defense phase and expected to conclude by mid-December.

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