Matt Harvey’s story just got sadder.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, Harvey was granted immunity to testify during the Tyler Skagg’s trial and admitted to using drugs throughout his playing career, while also going into detail about Skagg’s drug use as well.
This trial, of course, involves former Los Angeles Angels communications director Eric Kay, who is being accused of providing drugs to Skaggs, which are believed to have led to the pitcher’s death.
Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in Texas back in July of 2019 during an Angels’ road trip. Kay is now facing two felony charges and is being accused of providing oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to Skaggs, which resulted in a fatal overdose.
Harvey, the former Mets ace, was teammates with Skaggs when he passed away. ESPN’s T.J. Quinn was one of several reporters covering this case and revealed that Kay’s attorney claimed that Skaggs told Kay that the drugs that killed him, prior to his death, were Percocets that were given to him by Harvey.
During his testimony earlier today, Harvey said he gave six or seven Percocets to Skaggs in the Angels’ clubhouse during the 2019 season. Beyond that, Kay was Skaggs’ regular provider, according to Harvey.
While Kay was in rehab from April to May of 2019, Harvey said Skaggs requested him to obtain pills from his connections.
Among the drugs that Harvey admitted to using, cocaine was one of them. As ESPN reported, defense attorney Michael Molfetta asked Harvey if he lied about using this drug when he played for the Mets.
To which Harvey replied, “No one really asked.”
According to Harvey, he also used Percocets in mid-April of the 2019 season while pitching for the Angels. Additionally, he was given oxycodone by Skaggs in 2019 and tried it once, but didn’t like how it made him feel.
As Harvey went onto share, Skaggs used to crush up oxycodone and snort it on the toilet paper dispenser in the Angels’ clubhouse bathroom.
Although Harvey did not travel to Texas with the Angels on Skaggs’ fatal road trip, he asked Kay for an oxycodone pill the day before his teammate’s death.
This pill was placed in Harvey’s locker, but he wound up throwing it out after learning of Skaggs’ death.
Molfetta then asked Harvey if he regretted not cautioning Skaggs to be more careful with his drug use.
“Obviously looking back, I wish I had,” Harvey said, as reported by ESPN. “… Guys are constantly doing what they can to stay on the field. At the time I thought I was being a good teammate.”
Harvey, 32, is currently a free agent and acknowledged the fact that his past drug use becoming public could hurt his chances of continuing his MLB career.
Harvey was selected at No. 7 overall by the Mets out of the University of North Carolina in the 2010 MLB Draft. He went onto make his major league debut two years later and spent the first six and a half seasons of his big-league career in New York from 2012 to 2018.
Among his major achievements on the mound, Harvey was the starting pitcher for the National League during the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field. After undergoing Tommy John surgery later that year, which forced him to miss the entire 2014 season, Harvey won the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award upon his return in the following season.
Harvey also helped lead the Mets to a World Series appearance in 2015. Unfortunately, his career has been derailed by injuries ever since, as the man who was once dawned the nickname of “the Dark Knight,” has been unable to get back to his ace-like form after undergoing surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) in 2016.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism