Friday’s revelation about what caused pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ death is creating some new questions for the Los Angeles Angels organization.
Angels manager Brad Ausmus was asked about the prevalence of opioids within his own clubhouse in the wake of the news that Skaggs had died of an accidental overdose on alcohol and drugs, including fentanyl and oxycodone.
“Quite frankly, I had to Google what fentanyl was. I don’t really know much about it,” replied Ausmus, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.
“You read about opioids being an issue both culturally and of course post-surgically for athletes,” Ausmus continued. “But I can’t say I’ve ever seen it or noticed it being a problem.”
Skaggs, who was just 27 years old, passed away on Jul. 1 in his Southlake, Texas hotel room with the Angels in town to play the Rangers. The lefty was 28-38 in 96 career starts and overcame Tommy John surgery in Aug. 2014.
Major League Baseball has also launched an investigation into an allegation that an unnamed Angels employee had some involvement in Skaggs’ death, so the story may still be getting bigger from here.
