Reports: MLB, union discussing possible opioid testing

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have had discussions about randomly testing players for opioids, according to multiple media reports Friday, after an autopsy report showed oxycodone and fentanyl in the blood of late Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. MLB does not currently test major league players for opioids. However, minor league players are tested for opioids, which are classified as drugs of abuse instead of performance-enhancers.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said that Skaggs' death has changed the union's focus on the issue. "For several reasons, including the tragic loss of a member of our fraternity and other developments happening in the country as a whole, it is appropriate and important to reexamine all of our drug protocols relating to education, treatment and prevention," Clark said in a statement.

Skaggs died on July 1 after choking on his own vomit with traces of alcohol and painkillers in his bloodstream, according to the autopsy performed by the Tarrant County (Texas) medical examiner's office. Skaggs' family hired Texas-based attorney Rusty Hardin and in a statement said that his death "may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels." MLB has begun an investigation into Skaggs' death.

Of the more than 70,000 Americans killed by drug overdoses in 2017, nearly 48,000 deaths were caused in part by opioids, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and can be fatal in small doses. 

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