Former Los Angeles Angels employee Brian “Bubba” Harkins is quoting names. Harkins, who was fired by the Angels last March, said in court documents on Thursday that several Cy Young winners and All-Star launchers used an illegal substance distributed by Harkins, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
Harkins has named several former Angels players, “including Troy Percival, Brendan Donnelly, Tyler Chatwood, Kevin Jepsen and, most recently, Cam Bedrosian, Keynan Middleton, Yusmeiro Petit, Luke Bard, Matt Andriese, Dylan Peters, Jose Suarez and Dylan Bundy ”, According to the Times.
In addition, Harkins said he had evidence suggesting that Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Adam Wainwright, Corey Kluber and Felix Hernandez used an illegal throwing substance to improve control of the ball. The evidence surrounding Cole is particularly striking, as a text message in which Cole identifies himself and asks Harkins for help “with this complicated situation” was included in the evidence presented on Thursday.
Brian Harkins was fired by Angels for distributing illegal substance
Harkins, 55, was fired by the Angels last March after it was determined that he was making and distributing an illegal substance to visiting players. Harkins was a member of the Angels for almost four decades before being fired by the team.
In response, Harkins filed a defamation suit against the Angels and the MLB in August. Harkins – who spoke with MLB lawyers in March as part of an investigation into foreign substances – believes that the Angels tried to protect their players and the league did not want to deal with another scandal after the Houston Astros cheating scandal. Because of this, Harkins believes he was fired to be the “scapegoat” for foreign substances.
Harkins’ lawyer said he would seek at least $ 4 million if the case goes to trial. A judge is expected to make a decision on whether the Harkins case can proceed on January 21.
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