Former Major League Baseball pitcher Matt Harvey took the stand on Tuesday in a trial focused on the death of his former teammate, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
While Harvey did take the stand in the trial, his testimony was granted immunity.
Matt Harvey’s dramatic testimony in the trial surrounding the death of Tyler Skaggs
In a Twitter thread by Sam Blum, who covers the Los Angeles Angels for The Athletic, Blum details how Harvey testified about his friendship with Skaggs and drug use by both players. Skaggs was found dead in a hotel room in suburban Dallas just before the Angels were scheduled to take on the Texas Rangers in an early July 2019 series. Eric Kay, a former Angels employee, is at the center of the trial, accused of supplying Skaggs with the drugs that would eventually kill him. A medical examiner has testified that Skaggs died from an overdose and the subsequent asphyxiation caused by vomiting that followed.
At the time of his death, Skaggs reportedly had fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol in his system.
Harvey testified that he and Skaggs discussed oxycodone during spring training in 2019 and that Skaggs asked him for percocets/oxycodone that June. That timeline would place the conversation shortly before Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room.
Additionally, Harvey testified that he provided percocet pills to Skaggs on June 27, less than a week before Skaggs died.
Later in testimony, Harvey would say that he considered himself “a good teammate” and was trying to help Skaggs get through injuries. Earlier in the 2019 season, on April 12, Skaggs had injured his ankle while pitching at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs and was placed on the injured list soon after that outing. He would return later in the month but reportedly battled through pain as he returned to the Angels rotation.
Given immunity, Harvey said he wished that he had not advised Skaggs to take pills to battle his pain.