Angels star Mike Trout testifies that he knew Eric had a drug problem

Angels superstar Mike Trout testified Tuesday morning that he knew teammate Eric Kaye had a drug problem but that Peter Taylor Skaggs showed no signs of drug use.

Trout, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, played his entire 15-year career with the Angels and is under contract through the 2030 season. He was Skaggs’ teammate from 2014 to 2019, when the left-hander died in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019, after swallowing fake oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, a powerful opioid.

Kay, the former CEO of Anglican Communications, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison after being convicted in 2022 of supplying the pills that caused Skaggs’ overdose.

According to court filings, Skaggs’ attorney, Daniel Dutak, asked Trout about his reaction when he learned at a team meeting the next day that Skaggs had died.

“Cry,” replied Trott.

“You loved him like a brother,” said the lawyer. Trout added that he was not aware of any drug use by Skaggs.

Skaggs’ attorney questioned Trout to elicit testimony that would exonerate Skaggs, to prove that he was a valuable teammate and friend. Trout said he and Skaggs were roommates in 2010 when both were 18 years old and played for the Angels affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Trout, England’s highest-paid employee with more than $37 million a year, attended Skaggs’ wedding in 2018.

Neither Dutoko nor the Angels’ attorney, Todd Teodora, asked Trout why he didn’t notify team executives or human resources when he suspected Kay of drug use.

Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas on July 1, 2019, before the Angels began a series against the Texas Rangers. The Tarrant County medical examiner found that in addition to opioids, Skaggs had a blood alcohol level of 0.12. An autopsy determined that he died of suffocation after being forced to vomit, and that his death was accidental.

Trout’s testimony was followed by longtime English executives Tim Mead and Tom Taylor. Key has reported to Mead his entire 23-year career and worked closely with Taylor, the team’s travel secretary. Both men testified that they did not know that Kaye was addicted to opioids or that Kaye was supplying Skaggs with drugs.

Skaggs’ widow, Carly Skaggs, and parents, Debra Heitman and Darrell Skaggs, are asking English for $118 million for Skaggs’ lost future earnings, as well as compensatory and punitive damages for pain and suffering.

The Angels’ announcement that longtime former major league catcher Kurt Suzuki was hired as manager is consistent with Trout’s testimony.