A former official with the Los Angeles Angels testified that an employee, who was convicted of providing drugs linked to the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, performed well in his role but battled personal issues, including taking prescription medication for depression and bipolar disorder.
Tim Meade took the stand as the first witness in the civil trial concerning the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ family. Meade, who used to manage communications for the Angels, left the organization for a role with the National Baseball Hall of Fame shortly before Skaggs died from an overdose in 2019.
The family of Skaggs argues that the Angels should bear some accountability for his death, as team director Eric Kaye was found guilty of supplying fentanyl-laced pills that caused Skaggs’ fatal overdose during a team trip to Texas in 2019.
Meade, Kaye’s supervisor, testified that he was aware Kaye had mental health struggles and occasionally took days off. He noted that Kaye was generally an excellent employee, although he sometimes displayed troubling behavior, such as yelling at interns and accepting money from players for various antics.
“He was effective and a strong performer, typically. I did see him manage his time off,” Meade said, now working as an adjunct professor. “Given what Kaye was dealing with, I tended to believe him.”
Meade expressed concerns over Kaye’s management of his medication. Although Kaye sometimes claimed he wasn’t taking his meds, Meade said he had never seen evidence of illegal drug use. When pressed about why he didn’t raise Kaye’s issues to the team, Meade mentioned that Kaye was part of an employee assistance program, viewing it as integrated within the organization.
In April of 2019, Meade’s worries about Kaye escalated when he noticed notable changes in Kaye’s behavior at work, leading to Kaye being hospitalized that night. The following day, Meade visited him.
“He didn’t look well at all. His eyes were half-closed,” Meade recalled. “Clearly, something was very wrong.”
Kari Skaggs and her parents are pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing the Angels of neglecting drug policies and allowing Kaye—who they label both an addict and a dealer—to interact with players.
The team asserts that both Skaggs and Kaye made their own choices regarding drug use, claiming they couldn’t have intervened in what happened to Skaggs in his hotel room the night of his death. They further stated that team officials were unaware of Skaggs being under the influence and would have taken action if they had known.
The trial comes more than six years after the 27-year-old Skaggs was discovered dead in a Dallas hotel room, just before the Angels were set to begin a series against the Texas Rangers. The coroner reported that he died from asphyxiation related to vomit, with a toxic combination of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone found in his system.
Kaye was convicted in 2022 for supplying Skaggs with laced oxycodone pills and was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. His trial included testimonies from five MLB players who claimed they received pills from Kaye between 2017 and 2019.
The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million for lost earnings, pains, suffering, and punitive damages against the Angels.
Before his death, Skaggs had been part of the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016, even as he dealt with multiple injuries along the way, having previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Following his passing, MLB implemented testing for opioids and reached an agreement with the players’ association to refer those who tested positive to a treatment committee.
The trial is anticipated to last several weeks and might see testimonies from players like Angels outfielder Mike Trout and former pitcher Wade Miley, now with the Cincinnati Reds.
