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Feds: Ex-Angels employee charged in player's death supplied drugs to 5 other MLB players

Tyler Skaggs
Posted at 3:20 PM, Aug 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-24 19:15:00-04

A former Los Angeles Angels employee allegedly linked to the death of Angels player Tyler Skaggs in 2019 was accused Friday of running a drug distribution operation that involved supplying other MLB players with illegal narcotics.

According to court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times and The League of Justice, "approximately" five MLB players are set to testify that Eric Kay supplied them with oxycodone from 2017 to 2019.

The court documents do not name the players nor disclose if they played for the Angels, the media outlets reported.

The League of Justice reported that federal prosecutors allege that Kay sometimes used Skaggs as a middleman for distributing narcotics that Kay obtained from nine different suppliers.

Kay was charged in October with drug distribution and drug conspiracy for allegedly giving the 27-year-old pitcher the drugs that caused his drug overdose in July 2019.

In Texas, Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room on July 1, 2019, before a road game against the Rangers.

An autopsy report found that Skaggs had a mixture of fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol in his system that caused him to choke on his vomit.

Kay has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is slated to begin on Oct. 4.