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Agent: Skaggs Opioid Talk Was Praise, Not Warning
4 Dec, 2025
Summary
- Agent stated Skaggs' opioid recovery conversation was praise.
- Skaggs died from a fentanyl-laced pill in July 2019.
- A former Angels director received a 22-year sentence.
Tyler Skaggs' agent, Ryan Hamill, testified that a discussion about the pitcher's past opioid addiction was intended as praise for his successful recovery, not as a warning. Hamill stated he told Skaggs he was "glad you have it in your rearview."
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, from ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill. The former Angels communications director, Eric Kay, is currently serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for providing the pill. Skaggs' family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the team.
During testimony, Hamill also recalled that Skaggs' opioid use began in 2013 when then-Diamondbacks teammate Wade Miley provided him with Percocet. Hamill noted that he had not observed any addictive behaviors in Skaggs in the years following his recovery.
