SANTA ANA, Calif. \u2014 Testimony in the wrongful death civil trial brought by the family of pitcher Tyler Skaggs concluded on Friday with brief but contentious testimony from Angels president John Carpino.<\/p>\n
Carpino acknowledged that the Angels declined to pay out the remainder of Skaggs\u2019 2019 contract after his death. He also testified that the team was still paying for Eric Kay\u2019s legal defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cTyler Skaggs was a drug addict and a drug dealer,\u201d Carpino said. \u201cAnd Eric Kay was a drug addict and drug dealer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kay is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for providing the fentanyl-laced pill that Skaggs ingested, leading to his death on July 1, 2019. The family\u2019s suit is based on a belief that the Angels knew, or should have known, that Kay was providing pills to Skaggs.<\/p>\n
Closing arguments will begin on Monday, with deliberations ensuing immediately after. Testimony in the trial began more than two months ago, and the proceedings overall have gone on for nearly three months.<\/p>\n
Carpino, on direct examination by Angels lawyer Todd Theodora, said he wished that ex-Angels vice president for communications Tim Mead had provided him with information about Kay\u2019s drug issues. He also highlighted the team\u2019s actions in calling law enforcement on July 18, 2019, immediately after Carpino was notified of Kay\u2019s potential involvement.<\/p>\n
The Angels president said he spent time with Skaggs\u2019 family in the aftermath of Tyler\u2019s death, and that he helped arrange for a game to memorialize the pitcher, when the team played its first home game following Skaggs\u2019 passing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affected me deeply,\u201d Carpino said. \u201cHe was part of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n
On cross examination, Carpino declined to say whether or not he thought Kay had actually provided the lethal pill to Skaggs, and said \u201cI don\u2019t believe that Eric Kay had proper representation\u201d in his criminal trial.<\/p>\n
Court proceedings were delayed on Friday due to a fire drill in the court house. The lawyers and judge ended up arguing issues related to jury instructions in an adjacent outdoor courtyard.<\/p>\n
\nThe judge said I could tweet this. https:\/\/t.co\/6ThcnALA7p<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sYvzwW2P77<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When testimony began, nearly two hours late, two Angels-hired experts argued \u2014 in the context of potential future earnings \u2014 that Skaggs was a pitcher in decline, with a significant injury history and a record of poor performance. The Angels also called another senior executive, Molly Jolly.<\/p>\n
The Angels utilized longtime MLB general manager Dan Duquette to make the argument on potential future earnings. The Angels, through Duquette and sports economist Stephen Walters, have said Skaggs would have earned between $0 and $30 million throughout the rest of his career.<\/p>\n
Duquette\u2019s comments, at times, focused on statistics that didn\u2019t align with Skaggs\u2019 overall performance. One of his presentation slides was titled, \u201cTyler Skaggs was in Decline\u201d \u2014 citing year-over-year dips in curveball spin rate and fastball velocity from 2016 through his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality eroded significantly,\u201d Duquette said, due to his \u201cunreliability\u201d and \u201cunavailability\u201d stemming from injuries.<\/p>\n
However, in nearly every statistical metric, Skaggs performance was improving at the time of his death. He\u2019d posted a career-best 1.8 WAR and 4.02 ERA in 2018. In 2019, through exactly half a season, Skaggs had a 1.1 WAR, on pace for a career-best year. He led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched, and past testimony from other Angels witnesses referred to him as the club\u2019s \u201cace\u201d that year.<\/p>\n
Duquette was asked by Skaggs lawyer Daniel Dutko if 2019, when Skaggs started 15 games, was on pace to be his healthiest season. Duquette said no, offering that 2016 was actually Skaggs\u2019 healthiest season. However, in 2016, Skaggs made only 10 starts, and missed more than half the year recovering from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
Before Duquette testified, the Angels called Walters, the sports economist, who testified that he used Baseball-Reference.com\u2019s similar players\u2019 tool to find the best comparisons to Skaggs.<\/p>\n
On cross examination, Walters was asked why the list included numerous relievers, when Skaggs was a starter. The list also included several pitchers whose careers ended at age 27, and several more who were born in the 1940s, and pitched before the mound was lowered in 1969. Dutko noted language on Baseball-Reference\u2019s website saying their similar players comparison tool can be unreliable.<\/p>\n
Walters also argued that Skaggs was not a good comp for lefty starter Patrick Corbin, who ultimately made more than $100 million in free agency, even though Walters\u2019 initial list of comparable players included Corbin.<\/p>\n
The Angels expert criticized the Skaggs side\u2019s projected future earnings estimate. Ex-MLB Players Association attorney Jeff Fannell testified that Skaggs would have earned more than $100 million over his career. \u201cTyler\u2019s performance was substantially worse than Fannell\u2019s comps,\u201d read the header of one of Walters\u2019 slides.<\/p>\n
Duquette then testified that a player abusing and distributing drugs would \u201cdisqualify them from future employment.\u201d It was a point that another Angels expert, ex-MLB lawyer and Pirates president Frank Coonelly, testified to earlier this week<\/a>, arguing that Skaggs would have been banned from the sport for abusing and providing drugs.<\/p>\n