MLB ponders opioid tests after Skaggs death

The Major Leagues and the MLB Players Association have had initial conversations about the randomized trial of opioids in players, following an autopsy report that showed oxycodone and fentanyl in the blood of the late Los Angeles Angels pitcher, Tyler Skaggs.

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While discussions are in preliminary stages, both sides expect them to increase in the coming weeks and progress in the offseason, sources told ESPN. Although the dispute over economic issues has stained the MLB-MLBPA relationship in recent years, they have found common ground on drug-related issues, particularly with performance enhancers.

The national opioid crisis hit baseball with the death of July 1 of Skaggs, a 27-year-old left-hander. The autopsy performed by the coroner's office in Tarrant County, Texas, said Skaggs died after drowning in his own vomit while he slept. Skaggs' family hired lawyer Rusty Hardin and, in a statement, said his death "may involve a Los Angeles Angels employee." MLB has launched an investigation into the death of Skaggs.

MLB currently does not evaluate Major League players for opioids, although they are on the list of banned substances in the league. Minor League players, whose drug program is much stricter, are evaluated and subject to suspension for positive results. A spokesman for the league said that in the last half decade, 10 opioid suspensions have been applied in about 75,000 tests. Minor League players are placed in a drug treatment program after the first positive test and are suspended after the second.

However, the league is pushing for tests at the MLB level, aware that MLB players with more money and trying to survive the difficulty of a 162-game schedule could be more subject to opioid abuse. Authorities have discussed a number of options in exchange for adding opioids to randomized tests, including the possibility of eliminating all marijuana tests, sources report to ESPN. Currently, only players who are in the joint drug treatment program of a previous offense are evaluated for marijuana, and while those who are in conflict with the program are subject to disciplinary action, MLB has never suspended a player from Big leagues for the use of marijuana.

In the Minor Leagues, marijuana is treated as a so-called "drug of abuse", at the same level as opioids and cocaine, and players are subject to three levels of suspension: 50 games for the first offense, 100 games for second offense and a ban for life for the third. Club officials have admitted to adding a player to the roster of 40 players from their teams earlier than planned to ensure that they are in the Major League drug plan and that they are no longer subject to suspension for marijuana use.

The union's opening to opioid tests reflects the pain that resonated in the players after the death of Skaggs, a popular teammate and popular figure in the game.

"For several reasons, including the tragic loss of a member of our fraternity and other developments that occur throughout the country, it is appropriate and important to re-examine all our drug protocols related to education, treatment and prevention," he said. Tony Clark, the executive director of MLBPA, in a statement first given to The Los Angeles Times.

In his annual PED test report last year, the doctor who runs the league's drug program said 11,526 tests were administered, with 9,282 urine samples that tested PED, amphetamines and masking agents, and 2,244 blood tests used to detect human growth hormone. MLB does not disclose information about prohibited drug abuse tests, which also include LSD, MDMA, GHB and PCP.