News Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs dead at 27

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Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs died Monday. He was 27.

Skaggs and the Angels were in Texas to play the Rangers in a series that was scheduled to begin Monday. Their game was postponed.

Local police said in a statement that Skaggs was found unresponsive in his hotel room at 2:18 p.m. local time. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Police don’t suspect foul play. A cause of death has not yet been announced, but a police spokesperson said, via the L.A. Times, that suicide is “not suspected.”

Here’s what the Angels said about Skaggs’ death:

Angels statement on the passing of Tyler Skaggs. pic.twitter.com/6XA2Vu1uWV
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 1, 2019

Skaggs played five years in the Angels organization after breaking into the big leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was originally drafted by the Angels in 2009. He’s from Santa Monica, Calif., and was drafted out of Santa Monica High School. Just a day ago told a reporter how he dreamed of pitching against the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium.

On the field, Skaggs’ career was often hindered by injuries. He missed all of the 2015 season after needing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. He pitched half of the 2016 season after recovery. He missed a big part of the 2017 season because of injury and was on the injured list twice in 2018. This season was the first in which he’d stayed healthy, and was 7-7 with a 4.29 ERA in 15 starts.

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