The widow of Tyler Skaggs, faced with evidence of her husband’s illicit drug use, again denied knowing about his opioid habit leading up to his death, but testified that she now understands why he relied on the pills as she returned to the stand Tuesday in the wrongful death trial against the Los Angeles Angels.
Carli Skaggs fought back tears as she echoed testimony from one of her husband’s former teammates about how the pressure of playing major league baseball has led players to turn to illicit opioids.
“I understand it, I’m not saying something is right or wrong,” Carli said. “I feel sad that that is what they felt like they needed to do. That they trusted each other to get clean pills.”
Carli added that her husband and the other former Angels players were unaware that former Angels communications staffer Eric Kay, who was providing them the opioids, was actually getting the pills from dealers he found online.
“I’ve learned a lot of things since Tyler passed,” she testified. “I have compassion.”
During her earlier testimony in the plaintiff phase of the civil wrongful death trial, Carli denied knowing that he had a drug problem prior to his 2019 death in a Texas hotel room. She has testified to learning at one point that Skaggs had issues with Percocet while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013, prior to their relationship beginning. But Carli has continually testified that she was unaware that her husband was using opioids while playing for the Angels.
Attorneys for the Angels, armed with numerous text messages from Skaggs that included drug references, challenged Carli about her claims to have been unaware of her husband’s ongoing opioid use.
“I have a drug test today” Tyler texted Carli in December 2014. “You do? (expletive). Why?” Carli texted back, adding “You’re straight right?” In her testimony, Carli said she was worried that her husband was going to test positive for marijuana. In the text exchange, Tyler later wrote “lol they only test for steroids.”
At one point, Tyler appeared to reference a family history of substance abuse-related deaths. In another text exchange in December 2014, Carli wrote to Tyler that someone she knew had been found dead after “relapsing.” Tyler asked if that person had passed out and choked on their own vomit, adding “I have 2 family members die like that.”
“This exchange took place just four months after you learned Tyler had a Percocet issue?” Angels attorney Stephen Ladsous asked.
“I guess so,” Carli replied.
“Did you ask Tyler if he ever passed out from taking pills?” The attorney asked.
“No.”
In July 2015, Tyler texted Carli “I’m a drug addict lol.” Carli — who explained she believed Tyler was joking — responded by writing “Babe ok.”
“As in ‘Yeah right,’” Carli added during her testimony.
“Getting drug tested again,” Tyler texted Carli in August 2017, leading her to respond “omg why haha.” At the same time he was texting Carli, Tyler was also messaging teammate Matt Shoemaker “Whattup shoe anyway I can get one of those pain pills from you so I can take it during the game haha.” Shoemaker wrote back “No problem man.”
“Was it ok, in your mind, Tyler’s practice of asking teammates for non-prescribed pain medication as long as he was feeling pain?” Ladsous asked.
“I mean, best practice would be to go to the doctor and get his own prescription,” Carli responded.
The attorney, noting that common side-effects of opioid use include constipation and indigestion, showed jurors a text exchange from May 2018 in which Tyler complained about his stomach hurting and Carli responded by writing “Damn babe what’s that from” before adding “all the pills.”
Around the same time he was texting Carli that day, the attorney noted, Tyler sent Erik Kay — the Angels staffer who provided illicit pills to Tyler and other players — $1,650 through Venmo.
In Texas hotel room in July 2019 at the start of a team road trip, Tyler snorted the contents of a counterfeit pill that Kay had given him that turned out to contain fentanyl. He also consumed oxycodone and consumed alcohol. The 27-year-old pitcher was found dead the next morning. Kay is serving time in federal prison for his role in Skaggs’ death.
Carli’s testimony came during the second day of testimony in the defense phase of what is expected to be a two-month trial. Attorneys for the Angels are expected to argue that Tyler hid his drug addiction, preventing them from getting him help and potentially saving his life. The jury will ultimately have to decide whether the Angels knew, or at least should have known, that Kay was providing Skaggs with opioid pills.
Testimony in the wrongful death trial continues Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.