New details emerge in Tyler Skaggs civil case; Wade Miley alleged to be early drug source

Recently released court documents—some unintentionally made public—have shed new light on the tragic death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs and the involvement of former team communications director Eric Kay, who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence in connection with the incident.

These filings are part of an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit brought by Skaggs’ family against the Angels organization. Filed in June 2021 in a California state court, the lawsuit seeks $210 million in damages, alleging negligence and a failure by the team to protect the young pitcher.

On May 30, the Angels submitted a motion for summary judgment, requesting that the court dismiss the Skaggs family’s claims. Included in this motion was a deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ former agent and co-head of baseball at the Creative Artists Agency. Hamill testified that as early as 2013, he was concerned about Skaggs’ drug use. During their conversation, Skaggs reportedly admitted to using prescription opioids, specifically Percocet, and stated he had obtained them from pitcher Wade Miley. At the time, Skaggs and Miley were teammates on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Miley now plays for the Cincinnati Reds.

Hamill said he voiced his concerns both to Skaggs and his family. “He was honest,” Hamill testified. “He told me he had been using Percocet and that Wade Miley was the source.”

This isn’t the first time Miley’s name has surfaced in legal proceedings related to Skaggs’ death. In a recorded phone conversation from prison, presented by prosecutors during Kay’s sentencing hearing, Kay was heard telling his mother that Skaggs had sourced drugs from Miley. Through his agent, Miley declined to comment and has not been charged or formally accused of any wrongdoing. Hamill also declined to provide further remarks.

In a significant mishap, confidential legal documents—most notably deposition excerpts from key individuals—were accidentally posted to the court’s public database last week. These documents, submitted by attorneys for the Skaggs family in support of their motion for summary judgment, were intended to demonstrate that multiple Angels employees, including high-ranking officials, had knowledge of Kay’s drug use and may have been aware that he was supplying pills to Skaggs.

It remains unclear how the confidential material was released online, especially since depositions in the case have routinely been filed under seal. During a court appearance on Monday, attorneys representing the Angels accused Skaggs’ legal team of posting the material intentionally—a claim that was swiftly denied.

“The filings were made in accordance with California court procedures and the protective order in place, and they were intended to be conditionally filed under seal,” said a spokesperson for Rusty Hardin, the attorney representing the Skaggs family.

The document was removed after The Athletic reached out to both legal teams for comment. Lawyers for the Angels requested that the court block The Athletic from reporting on the contents of the inadvertently published materials. However, Judge Shaina H. Colover denied this request, citing the protections granted under the First Amendment.

Todd Theodora of Theodora Oringher, legal counsel for the Angels, emphasized the team’s position: “We will respect the Court’s directive and refrain from citing the substantial body of evidence that contradicts the Skaggs family’s claims and confirms the team’s lack of liability in Tyler’s death.”

Both sides submitted over 1,000 pages of documents. Among the revelations are new insights into Skaggs’ own role in acquiring opioids.

Skaggs’ Efforts to Obtain Pills

Central to the Angels’ defense is the argument that Skaggs was responsible for his own demise due to his prolonged and willful misuse of opioids. The team’s attorneys assert that Skaggs had a long-standing dependency and knowingly obtained drugs from unregulated, illegal sources.

“Tyler Skaggs battled addiction for nearly ten years, and during that time he repeatedly sourced drugs from various illegal suppliers,” Theodora stated. “That pattern of conduct is critical under the law.”

The Angels’ motion cites Skaggs’ persistent solicitation and use of opioids as legal grounds to bar the family’s negligence claims under the doctrine of “unclean hands.”

Text messages between Skaggs and his teammates were presented as supporting evidence. In one message from June 2017, Skaggs texted then-teammate Mike Morin, “Talked to EK [Eric Kay], can I buy one from you since you cleaned the guy out?” Another message from just days before Skaggs’ death in June 2019 shows Skaggs texting Matt Harvey, another teammate, asking, “Can I get 2 lol.”

During Eric Kay’s federal criminal trial, multiple players—including Cam Bedrosian, C.J. Cron, Matt Harvey, and Mike Morin—testified that they had received pills from Kay. In many instances, Skaggs was the one facilitating these exchanges.

Additionally, Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, testified that her son had started using Percocet in 2013. Medical records included in the court filings show that by September of that year, Skaggs was reportedly consuming five Percocets per day. He was also prescribed Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid dependence.

The court documents included texts from 2015 between Skaggs and his girlfriend, Carli Skaggs, in which he referred to his marijuana use and joked, “I’m a drug addict lol.” The defense pointed to this as evidence of Skaggs’ awareness of his substance abuse problem.

Eric Kay’s Ex-Wife Describes Red Flags

Camela Kay, Eric Kay’s ex-wife, gave a pivotal deposition on April 3, 2025. In her testimony, she described multiple interactions with senior members of the Angels organization, during which she discussed her husband’s drug abuse and its possible connection to Skaggs.

She recounted that on a 2013 team trip to New York, Eric confided in her, as well as then-Angels vice president of communications Tim Mead and traveling secretary Tom Taylor, that he was misusing Vicodin. Later, in October 2017, Kay’s family held an intervention. Though neither Mead nor Taylor attended the intervention, they visited the Kays’ home the next day to persuade Eric to seek professional help.

During this visit, Eric admitted to his colleagues that he had drugs at home. Camela testified that six to seven small baggies, each containing around six white pills, were discovered. She expressed concern that Eric might have been selling the drugs—possibly to players—though she did not communicate that suspicion to Mead or Taylor at the time.

Tim Mead, who no longer works with the team, declined to comment but had previously told reporters that he never discussed opioids or Tyler Skaggs with Eric Kay. Tom Taylor remains with the organization and also declined comment.

Testimonies during Kay’s criminal proceedings described an incident on Easter 2019 in which he behaved erratically at work. Taylor followed Kay home that day and witnessed strange behavior, including a stop at a CVS. Kay was later hospitalized. Camela said she contacted Taylor that evening, telling him that Eric’s sister Kelly had said the pills were intended for Skaggs.

“I specifically told him it was Tyler Skaggs,” Camela testified.

Eric’s mother, Sandy Kay, also said she informed Mead at the hospital that her son had been receiving texts from Skaggs, though she added that Mead did not respond.

According to informal notes from a September 2019 interview conducted by Southlake police prior to Kay’s indictment, Kay told authorities he had spoken with Mead about his interactions with Skaggs. However, the Angels’ legal team denies that Mead or Taylor had any awareness of Skaggs’ opioid use before his death.

A Culture of Concern Inside the Organization

The Skaggs family’s attorneys argue that several employees within the Angels’ organization were aware of Kay’s addiction well before the fatal overdose and failed to take appropriate action.

Court records include numerous text messages between Camela Kay, Mead, and Taylor, indicating that both men regularly checked in about Eric’s condition and even coordinated with team doctors to provide him with support.

One message from April 2019 shows Mead updating Taylor and Camela about Kay’s hospitalization, confirming that he had spoken with the team doctor and benefits coordinator. In a separate 2015 email, Kay noted that he was undergoing private rehab arranged through a team physician.

Testimony from other communications staff also highlighted their concerns. Grace McNamee, a colleague under Kay’s supervision, testified in 2024 that she saw Kay struggling to stay awake during a 2018 game. She and fellow employee Matt Birch reported the issue to Taylor, who escorted Kay away. Both McNamee and Birch said Kay’s behavior raised red flags, and McNamee later expressed concern to another colleague, Adam Chodzko.

On June 30, 2019—the day the team left for the Texas road trip where Skaggs would later die—McNamee told Chodzko that she thought Kay should remain at home. “Treatment takes time,” she testified, indicating uncertainty about whether Kay had fully recovered.

Team president John Carpino, who supervised Kay at the time, said in his February 2025 deposition that he was unaware Kay had attended drug rehab in May 2019, believing only that he was on medical leave. Carpino made the decision to send Kay on the Texas trip.