Lawyer Alleges Matt Harvey Was Involved in OD Death of Tyler Skaggs

At the onset of Eric Kay’s trial in connection to the death of former MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs, the lawyer for the former Los Angeles Angels front-office employee made the case that the Percocet the 27-year-old took before he died in 2019 in a Texas hotel room was provided by former Angels pitcher Matt Harvey, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Kay, the team’s former communications director, faces felony charges of distributing opioids and causing the opioid-related death of Skaggs in 2019 while the team was on a road trip in Texas. Per his lawyer, Reagan Wynn, Kay saw Skaggs snort a line of pink pills on the night he died. After asking where the pills had come from, Kay was allegedly told the pills were Percocets that Skaggs had obtained from Harvey.

The prosecution is attempting to prove that it was Kay who provided Skaggs with the fentanyl-laced pills that caused him to choke on his own vomit. Skaggs also had oxycodone and alcohol in his system at the time of his death.

Per assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Beran, Kay was also the only person who could have given Skaggs drugs before he died. “Eric Kay and Tyler Skaggs were not ‘outside of work’ friends,” she said. “Eric Kay was Tyler Skaggs’ drug dealer. That was their relationship.”

As the trial continues, Harvey is expected to testify as a witness for the prosecution and will likely appear in court later this week or early next week. A former All-Star with the New York Mets, 32-year-old Harvey is a free agent after spending the 2021 season with the Baltimore Orioles. He was released by the Angels three weeks after Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room. Nine other former Angels players have the potential to testify in the case.

Kay has pleaded not guilty to felony counts of distributing counterfeit pills and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute the opioid. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.