When former New York Mets star Matt Harvey's promising career was derailed by drug distribution scandal

In February 2022, former New York Mets star Matt Harvey's promising MLB career was derailed. He confessed that he had provided the late Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs with Percocet pills while they were teammates.

Harvey's sensational admission came during the federal trial regarding the death of Skaggs.

According to reports, Tyler Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room at the Southlake Town Square Hilton on July 1st, 2019. He was visiting Texas for the Los Angeles Angels series against the Texas Rangers. Subsequent medical examinations revealed that he had died from choking on his own vomit. His system contained a dangerous combination of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone.

Following Skaggs' untimely death, an investigation was launched by the Southlake Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The focus of the investigation shifted towards Eric Kay, a former employee of the LA Angels front office, who was later charged in connection with Skaggs' demise.

Later on, in February 2022, during a trial in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Kays' lawyers raised the possibility that Matt Harvey could have been the one who provided drugs to Skaggs. Reagan Wynn, one of the three attorneys representing Kays, informed the jury that his client had witnessed Skaggs inhaling crushed pills on the night of his death. Specifically, Skaggs had snorted two blue pills and one pink pill, prompting Kays to inquire about the origin of the pink pill.

"Tyler Skaggs told him, 'Those are Percocets I got from Harvey,'" Wynn said.

One week after the incident, Harvey gave his testimony and admitted that he had given Skaggs around six or seven Percocets in the clubhouse.

However, the toxicology report released in August 2019 by the Tarrant County medical examiner's office revealed that Percocet was not present in Skaggs' system at the time of his death. However, the government did find Percocet in Skaggs' hotel room.

In May 2022, Matt Harvey, who was signed to a minor league contract with the Orioles, received a 60-game suspension from MLB for violating the league's joint drug program. The suspension significantly impacted Harvey's baseball career.

Matt Harvey's accuser, Eric Kay, was sentenced to prison in 2022 for his connection to Tyler Skaggs' death

Cleveland Indians v Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay was handed a prison term of 22 years by a federal court in October 2022 following a lengthy trial.

He was found guilty of supplying drugs to the late pitcher Tyler Skaggs, resulting in Skaggs' fatal overdose in Texas.

Skaggs' family was happy with the culprit's punishment.

"We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay," Tyler's family said in a statement. "Today's sentencing isn't about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue, in this case, is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl."

On the other hand, Matt Harvey chose to become a free agent after the conclusion of the 2022 MLB season.

Subsequently, on May 5th, 2023, Harvey made public his decision to retire from the world of professional baseball.