Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron to testify against former Los Angeles Angels employee in trial

According to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, current Colorado Rockies first baseman and former Los Angeles Angels first baseman C.J. Cron is set to testify at the trial of Eric Kay, a former PR staffer for the Los Angeles Angels.

Cron will be among 79 witnesses to testify at the trial of Kay, who is facing felony counts of distributing a controlled substance (fentanyl) that led to the death of former Angels pitcher and Cron’s former teammate, Tyler Skaggs in 2019. Kay is also being charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute the opioid. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

The trial will take place in Tarrant County, Texas, which is where Skaggs died (in the town of Southlake) and where the city of Fort Worth is.

Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron was a teammate of the late Tyler Skaggs on the Los Angeles Angels from 2016 through 2017

According to The Athletic (subscription required), Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron will be among a handful of former Los Angeles Angels players to testify at Eric Kay’s trial. Cron and some of his other former teammates will reportedly testify on their interactions with both Kay and Skaggs, and that also Kay provided oxycodone to Skaggs and others.

During the autopsy of Skaggs, it was determined that he died of “mixed ethanol (alcohol), fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication.” That resulted in Skaggs choking on his own vomit and dying on July 1, 2019 while the Angels were in Texas to face the Texas Rangers.

The trial will reportedly begin sometime late next week.

Cron and the others were on the list to testify but the list was private. In December, The Los Angeles Times filed a motion to make the list public, citing the First Amendment and the judge in the trial agreed in late January. The government filed an appeal, which was turned down on Tuesday.

As a result of Skaggs’ death and the distribution of opioids to him and other players (which will be brought up in court proceedings), MLB and the MLBPA agreed to randomly test players for opioids and cocaine.