Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs died in a hotel room because the ball club allowed an employee they allegedly long knew to be a drug addict and dealer to travel with players on a Texas road trip, attorneys representing Skaggs’ family told an Orange County jury on Tuesday, Oct. 14, as a civil trial began in a wrongful death brought case against the organization.

Angels’ employees were aware that Eric Kay — at the time a public relations director with the ball club — had been distributing drugs to several players while struggling with his own addiction issues that two months before Skaggs’ death had included Kay’s own stint in outpatient rehab, Skaggs’ family attorney Shawn Holley told jurors during her opening statements in a Santa Ana courtroom.

“Tyler Skaggs died alone in a hotel room i

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