With Tyler Skaggs death having ruled to be caused by an opioid overdose, the DEA has launched an investigation. According to the Los Angeles Times, as part of that investigation, the DEA is attempting to decipher “whether the use of opiates was prevalent in the clubhouse, if they ever saw players using illegal narcotics on team flights and if they knew how Skaggs procured drugs.”
On that front, Eric Kay, who has worked in the Angels’ front office for 24 years, admitted to providing Skaggs with opiates. The article noted Kay is cooperating with authorities, and that he too has struggled with opiate use.
A retired DEA agent, Lance Williams, told the Los Angeles Times, this will lead to federal agents getting “all the text messages to see if there are common numbers that jibe with the existing investigation, to see if [a team employee] might have texted someone in the front office to say Tyler may have a problem, to see who might have known what.”
As part of the investigation, the DEA has undertaken interviewing Skaggs’ former teammates. Andrew Heaney, who was a close friend with Skaggs has confirmed he was interviewed. Heaney’s representatives would note Skagg’s death came as a shock to everyone.
In addition to Skaggs, Matt Harvey, Noe Ramirez, and two other Angels players spoke with the DEA. While the names of the people being questioned may lead to wild speculation, it is important to note “the players weren’t targeted for any specific reason or suspected of using opiates or implicated in any potential crime.”
Given what we have learned in the days and weeks after Skaggs’ death, there does need to be an investigation into not just his death, but also into how prevalent opioid abuse is in MLB clubhouses. To the extent there is an issue, MLB needs to find a way to help those players so as to avoid another tragedy.
