The Arizona Diamondbacks are now part of the discussion of the tragic 2019 overdose death of ex-Major League Baseball pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
Skaggs played for the Los Angeles Angels when he passed on July 1, 2019. His autopsy discovered oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol in his system. Skaggs played for the Diamondbacks in 2012 and 2013, which overlapped with pitcher Wade Miley’s four-year tenure with the Diamondbacks.
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Ex-Angels communications director Eric Kay is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after being found guilty on two charges of supplying drugs related to Skaggs’ overdose. According to The Athletic, criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation where Kay told his mother that Skaggs used Miley as a drug source. Kay’s criminal case mentioned Miley, but Miley did not end up being charged with a crime.
According to reports released on Thursday, June 12, Miley was alleged to have supplied Skaggs with drugs when they played together on the Diamondbacks. These allegations came during a deposition that is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Angels, where they are asking for dismissal of a lawsuit from the Skaggs family.
In the deposition, Ryan Hamill, who was Skaggs’ agent, said that he was worried about Skaggs using drugs in 2013, when he and Miley were with the Diamondbacks. The agent said he, along with Skaggs’ family, confronted Skaggs about it.
“He came clean,” Hamill testified, according to Field Level Media. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”
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“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks,” Miley said on June 13 before his current team, the Cincinnati Reds, played the Detroit Tigers. “My thoughts are with his family and his friends. But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”
Miley was asked about whether MLB had reached out to him about the allegations.
“I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward,” Miley responded. “I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”
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Miley and Skaggs were both first-round MLB draft picks in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Miley made his MLB debut in 2011 with the Diamondbacks, and Skaggs made his the next year with the Diamondbacks. Both were starting pitchers for the Diamondbacks.
Miley performed better for the Diamondbacks than any other team, as he boasted a 3.79 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 106 appearances (102 starts) for Arizona. Skaggs logged 13 appearances with the Diamondbacks, and his best days were with the Angels, where he posted a 3.86 FIP and allowed fewer than nine hits per nine innings in five seasons with them.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Wade Miley denies giving Tyler Skaggs drugs as Diamondbacks teammates