Medical Examiner Provides Update on MLB Player Tyler Skaggs' Death
The death of 27-year-old Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who was found in his hotel room Monday ahead of the Angels’ game against the Texas Rangers, raised a lot of questions.
And it seems that we’ll be waiting a long while for the answers.
The autopsy report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office isn’t expected until October, Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
The Tarrant County (Texas) Medical Examiner estimates the autopsy report for Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs will be completed in early October.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) July 2, 2019
Skaggs was found unresponsive Monday and pronounced dead at the scene, but the cause of death and the circumstances leading up to it remain a mystery.
“At this time, no foul play is suspected,” the Southlake Police Department said in a news release Monday. “This investigation is ongoing and we will release pertinent information as it is available.”
Police also said initial indications were that it wasn’t a suicide, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
While some questioned the family’s request for the medical examiner to withhold information from the public pending a final report, autopsy reports often take up to or even over three months to compile, as Fenno pointed out. The medical examiner ensures every detail is correct and that toxicology reports, which take time, are fully complete.
Though the time to finalize the autopsy report might appear lengthy, it’s not unusual in my experience. The report on the death of former USC football player Kevin Ellison in L.A. last year, for example, took about 3.5 months because of toxicology testing.
— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) July 2, 2019
Skaggs was expected to be the Fourth of July starter for Anaheim. It remains to be seen who will take his place.
Jose Suarez was slated to pitch Tuesday as the Angels and Rangers begin their midweek series at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
A moment of silence will be observed before the game in Skaggs’ memory, the Rangers announced Tuesday.
UPDATE: Tonight’s 7:05pm game will be played as scheduled and we will hold a pregame moment of silence for Tyler Skaggs.
All @Texas2Split proceeds from tonight’s game will be donated to the @Angels Baseball Foundation. pic.twitter.com/qkWa9OiDhj
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 2, 2019
Skaggs was 7-7 for the Angels this season with a 4.29 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 78 batters in 79.2 innings and posting a career-best 105 ERA+.
For his career, he was 28-38, averaging 184 innings per full season as a workhorse starter between 2012 and his death Monday.
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