Late Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs had been abusing prescription drugs since at least 2013, with a former teammate serving as one of his sources, The Athletic reported Thursday.
In a lengthy article about a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed against the Angels by the Skaggs family, The Athletic reported that Skaggs’ former agent said in a deposition that the pitcher received some drugs from Wade Miley, a teammate with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2013 season.
Miley, 38, recently was signed by the Cincinnati Reds.
Ryan Hamill, who was Skaggs’ agent, testified he discussed Skaggs’ drug use with both the pitcher and his family.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
The Hamill deposition was included in “hundreds of pages of testimony” that The Athletic said were posted, apparently erroneously, on the California court’s online portal last week.
Skaggs, 27, died of a drug overdose while the Angels were on a road trip to play the Texas Rangers in 2019. Eric Kay, the team’s former communications director, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2022 after being found guilty of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.
The family is seeking $210 million in damages. The Angels have filed a motion seeking a summary judgment and to have the claim dismissed.
Miley also was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.
Both Hamill and Miley, through his agent, declined to comment to The Athletic.
The Reds signed left-hander Miley on June 4 after starting pitcher Hunter Greene landed on the injured list.
Miley had not pitched in the majors since April 16, 2024, because of ulnar collateral ligament surgery.
With the Reds, he has appeared in two games. He got the win in Cincinnati’s 7-4 game against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. He started and threw five innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks.
Miley began his career with the Diamondbacks in 2011, then later played with the Boston Red Sox (2015). Seattle Mariners (2016), Baltimore Orioles (2016-17), Milwaukee Brewers (2018), Houston Astros (2019), Reds (2020-21), Chicago Cubs (2022) and Brewers (2023-24).
–Field Level Media
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