Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Mike Morin described his decision to use illicit opioid pills surreptitiously obtained by former team communications staffer Eric Kay as the result of the pressures of staying on a major league roster in testimony he offered on the stand Tuesday, Nov. 18 in the Tyler Skaggs wrongful death trial.
Morin testified to receiving opioids from Kay after Skaggs tipped Morin that Kay was a source for illicit pills. He expressed regret for taking the pills, explaining that he had been trying to deal with the stress of a professional baseball career.
“I didn’t want to tell people I wasn’t OK,” Morin said. “Because in some way — whether it was true or not, whether it is in my mind or not — there are potential ramifications if the team knows I am dealing with an injury.”
Morin acknowledged that the Angels — like all MLB teams — have plenty of resources available to players, including medical and mental health staff. But some players worry about the stigma of seeking treatment, he added, and the potential impact on their career.
“You don’t want to shout it to the team that I’m not OK right now, even if they have the resources (available),” Morin said. “A lot of it is fear-based, 100 percent. You just want to stay (on the roster). You don’t want to lose your spot.”
Explaining that he “takes accountability for my actions,” Morin testified that even at the time he was taking the illicit opioids, he “personally knew it was wrong” and “was not proud of what I was doing.”
“I am 100 percent embarrassed to sit here and have to say this is something I did,” Morin testified. “It is really challenging to get to and stay in the big leagues when a lot of things are on the line. When you find a short-term solution, you are just trying to get to the finish line.”
Morin said he was unaware at the time that anyone but him and Skaggs were receiving opioid pills from Kay. Four other former Angels players have since been publicly identified as also using illicit pills provided by Kay. According to evidence presented so far during the trial, Kay obtained the pills by finding dealers online.
Skaggs died in July 2019 after combining a counterfeit pill Kay provided him that contained fentanyl with Oxycodone and alcohol. Kay is currently serving prison time for his role in Skagg’s death. The current civil trial in Orange County Superior Court revolves around whether the Angels knew, or should have known, about Kay’s drug ties to Skaggs prior to the 27-year-old pitcher’s death.
Asked who he believed was to blame for Skaggs’ death, Morin responded, “I think he is responsible for his actions.”
Several Angels employees who worked with Kay in the Angels front office — including the communications team and the HR department — have denied knowing that Kay was addicted to opioids or distributing drugs to players. They acknowledged that Kay acted erratically at times, but said they believed it was due to mental health or related prescription drug issues.
Several former members of the team clubhouse, however, have testified that Kay’s drug use was well-known within the organization, and Kay’s ex-wife has testified that team officials were warned that Kay was providing drugs to Skaggs.
Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, during testimony late Monday and early Tuesday described her son as “larger than life.” In a particularly emotional moment, Hetman spoke about keeping an urn with her son’s ashes in her home.
“Just because I miss him so much, I talk to him every day,” Hetman said. “I never thought I would have to live the rest of my life without Tyler.”
“I don’t think about Tyler as a baseball player, I think of him as an incredible human being,” she added. “He would always look you in the eye, you would be the center of that conversation. He never thought he was better than anyone else. Everyone was on the same level… he was like everyone’s best friend.”
In 2013, when Skaggs was playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he told his family he had an issue with Percocet and asked for help. Hetman said they didn’t ask him how many pills he was taking a day or where he was getting them.
“My only concern was to get him help,” Hetman said.
The mother testified that after speaking with medical professionals, Skaggs ended up quitting “cold turkey.” She said his agents — and later a doctor the Angels sent him to for Tommy John surgery — were aware of his previous issue with painkillers. But, under questioning by attorneys for the Angels, Hetman acknowledged that she hadn’t spoken to team officials about it.
“I don’t really think it is my job as a mom to contact Angels baseball,” she said.
Late Tuesday, Jeff Fannell, a former labor lawyer for the MLB player’s union, took the stand as an expert witness for attorneys representing the Skaggs family. Based on what players with similar stats and injury history as Skaggs, Fannell estimated that Skaggs could have earned contracts worth more than $113 million through 2027 if he hadn’t died in 2019.
Attorneys for the Angels will have the opportunity to question Fannell about those estimates on Wednesday, when testimony continues in a Santa Ana courtroom.