After three Tommy John surgeries, pitcher Daulton Jefferies is trying for another MLB comeback

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) — Time for that first changeup.

Daulton Jefferies utters those words aloud to nobody in particular on a cold December morning at Heather Farm Park. This out-of-the-way diamond has become the pitcher’s personal rehab home as he attempts a fourth baseball comeback, following a third Tommy John surgery.

Plagued by injuries and arm issues, Jefferies had all but moved on from baseball and was working full-time in commercial real estate and taking college classes toward his sociology degree at the University of California at Berkeley. Only recently did he realize he was ready to go all in again and began throwing twice a week in a public park — and on Saturday in Arizona, he will hold a pro day so the experts can evaluate his progress.

“People are going to think I’m nuts, but I am a little bit,” he said, “You have to be.”

For anybody stopping by, Jefferies lets them know he can be found on the last field on the right. It's typically just him, some modest equipment and his supportive new wife, Natalie, always eager to jump in and help with any task necessary in her husband’s quest to get back into a uniform.

Jefferies bought a makeshift turf mound online for about $70 and a pitching target that catches the balls, which he grabs from a plastic bucket about a foot away from where he stands.

As Jefferies stretches out his arm with some throws from about 110 feet, a boy is receiving a golf lesson in right field directly behind him. On the weeknights, parents pull out lawn chairs as their kids run around playing soccer. They pay him little attention, unaware he’s a former major leaguer in training.

The wind is whipping and Jefferies is only in a T-shirt and lightweight pants when he blows into his pitching hand, an old Pirates July 4 holiday hat on backward as he lets it fly.

He may never be back to full strength, and came to terms with that long ago.

“I feel like I just keep getting next chances,” Jefferies said. “If you’re going to be dumb, you’ve got to be tough. Honestly, I like it when I feel a little bit of soreness or stuff like that — a lot of pitchers are like this, too. We don’t like feeling 100% because we just don’t know where our body is sometimes.”

Jefferies is an expert by now when it comes to the rehab routine.

To mimic PT techniques, he uses the back of a butter knife to massage out scar tissue and reduce inflammation in the elbow and now owns his own cupping set.

“I feel good, surprisingly,” Jefferies said. “I’ve done this whole thing pretty much by myself, rehab and everything. I’ve done it four times, I’ve done rehab four times. They were all 18 months.”

“It is kind of nice doing it by yourself, too, though, because you’re at your own pace.”

After his third elbow surgery in November 2024, he would go to the gym with Natalie to lift weights and do his physical therapy exercises.

“I decided I don’t know if my career’s over or not. I went back and forth with Natalie and myself and my dad,” he said. “I had a few identity crises of like ‘who am I outside of baseball, who is Daulton Jefferies?’ So it took me a little bit to figure that out.”

Many mornings now, he is on the road by 6:15 a.m. for San Francisco to exercise and then work before crossing the bay again for school in Berkeley. Every day is a whirlwind of activity and bridge tolls.

“So it was go to the gym early, go to work and then go to Berkeley and back to work and sometimes go back to Berkeley and then come home to Walnut Creek or to the city,” he said.

It was last summer when he sat down separately with Natalie and his dad.

Everyone in his inner circle encouraged him to give it one last hurrah.

“My dad was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go for it,’” Jefferies recalled of the conversation, “and I was like ‘yeah, I’m going to regret it if I don’t.’”

Yet given how his career keeps getting derailed by that troublesome right elbow, the decision was a daunting one.

A first-round draft pick in 2016, Jefferies has played parts of four major league seasons with the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh. He owns a 2-10 career record with a 6.59 ERA over 20 outings with 11 starts spanning 71 total innings.

He missed the 2023 season recovering from his second Tommy John surgery in September 2022 and thoracic outlet surgery a few months before that. Jefferies then joined the Giants and had a 17.36 ERA over two outings when they designated him for assignment and ultimately traded him to the Pirates.

Former reliever Sergio Romo’s mantra is always on the top of Jefferies' mind for motivation: “It’s not your last chance, it’s your next one.”

“I’m a 30-year-old, I’ve got some time, yeah,” he said. “There’s 34-year-olds in the big leagues, 37-year-olds. I can do it at 30.”

Mid-workout, Jefferies politely summons Natalie over to the mound to shoot some video of him from the side. It will allow the right-hander to not only study his hip angle and delivery but also have some clips handy if anybody requests them.

Twice a week Jefferies has been unloading the equipment from his truck and going through a throwing regimen he has adapted over time.

“Poor Natalie she ends up being the one to pick up balls,” he said.

Time for that changeup. The pitch strays a little wild.

“Oh, I hit the guy but it’s OK,” he said with a smile, “it moved.”

Each time, Jefferies begins his extensive warmup with a resistance band hooked to the back fence. It’s red, chosen years ago when he had hoped to join the Angels. His radar gun has water damage, so he doesn't know for sure how hard he's throwing, but he was clocked in the low 90s recently on a visit to Arizona.

“I’m very proud of Daulton,” said his father, John. “And I know when he puts his mind to something he makes it happen.”

Natalie acknowledged the courage it takes for her husband to keep chasing this dream, through setback after setback — and with that gnarly scar on his right arm serving as a constant reminder of it all.

“Very proud,” she said. “He’s proud of what he’s been able to accomplish in baseball. He loves the sport so much and why not try again? He’s working a full-time job, he’s going to school and late at night he’s training. It’s pretty amazing.”

On occasion someone walking by will stop to watch Jefferies pitch, perhaps noticing the odd scene of a man throwing baseballs all by himself. He has chatted with the man teaching golf lessons.

“He’s seen me out here a few times when it’s getting dark, so he teaches the kids about showing up when no one else is watching,” Jefferies said.

It’s hard to imagine how he fits everything into a single day – from the job to classes, lifting weights and throwing, to being a newlywed.

“It takes a village,” Natalie said.

“It takes a village,” her husband repeated.

Jefferies realizes there’s no one he has to convince that he can still do this, but he wants this for himself — one more time.

“It would be a life-fulfilling story just to get back, whatever context that may be. But just to prove that I can do it again, for like the fourth time,” he said. “I just love throwing a ball.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Baseballs are scattered on the ground as Daulton Jefferies works out at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies, right, and his wife Natalie watch a video of him throwing a pitch while working out at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies throws a baseball as he warms up at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies is recorded by his wife Natalie, foreground, as he throws a pitch at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies throws a pitch while working out at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies grips a baseball while working out at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies stretches before working out at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Daulton Jefferies looks at the scar remaining from multiple right elbow surgeries, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Walnut Creek, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 17, 2026--

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Embecta Corp. (“Embecta” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EMBC) and reminds investors of the August 17, 2026 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817839374/en/

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com.

As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: Embecta knew or recklessly disregarded that the Company's guidance was misleading and unattainable. In fact, Embecta touted the Company's pen needle business as "incredibly resolute" mere weeks prior to missing expectations and cutting 2026 fiscal guidance.

On May 5, 2026, Embecta published second quarter 2026 fiscal results disclosing that the Company failed to meet its guidance for second quarter 2026 and lowered fiscal year 2026 guidance. In particular, Embecta revealed that revenue declined over 14%, much higher than the guidance of flat to a decline of 2% and that the Company was lowering estimates on US performance, largely in part due to weakness in its pen needle sales.

Following this news, the price of Embecta's common stock declined dramatically. From a closing market price of $9.25 per share on May 4, 2026, Embecta's stock price fell to $3.90 per share on May 5, 2026, a decline of over 57.8% in a single day.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Embecta’s conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

To learn more about the Embecta class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/EMBC or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Investors Regarding the Embecta Securities Class Action Lawsuit:

What is the Embecta securities fraud lawsuit about?

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has filed a securities class action lawsuit alleging that Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ: EMBC) and certain of its officers and directors made materially false and misleading statements to investors during the Class Period. The lawsuit alleges that defendants concealed adverse facts concerning the true state of Embecta's financial results and that the Company's publicly issued guidance was misleading and allegedly unattainable. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Embecta touted its pen needle business as "incredibly resolute" just weeks before the Company missed its own guidance and was forced to cut its fiscal year 2026 outlook. On May 5, 2026, Embecta disclosed second quarter 2026 results showing a revenue decline of over 14% — far exceeding the guided range of flat to a decline of 2% — largely attributed to weakness in pen needle sales, causing the Company's stock price to fall approximately 57.8% in a single trading session. The lawsuit alleges that these circumstances caused investors to purchase Embecta securities at artificially inflated prices.

Who may be eligible to participate in the lawsuit?

Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ: EMBC) securities on the NASDAQ between November 25, 2025 and May 4, 2026, inclusive, may be eligible to participate in this class action lawsuit. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of all such investors who allegedly suffered losses as a result of the conduct described in the complaint. Eligibility to participate in any potential recovery is not limited to those who seek appointment as lead plaintiff; all class members who purchased during the Class Period may be entitled to share in any recovery ultimately obtained. Investors who believe they may be eligible are encouraged to review their trading records for transactions in Embecta securities during the Class Period.

What is a lead plaintiff, and how can I seek appointment?

A lead plaintiff is a court-appointed representative who leads the litigation on behalf of the entire class of similarly situated investors and works with counsel to make key decisions regarding the prosecution of the case. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, any investor who purchased Embecta securities during the Class Period may move the court to serve as lead plaintiff, and the court generally appoints the movant with the largest financial interest in the litigation who also satisfies applicable legal requirements. The deadline to file a motion for appointment as lead plaintiff is the lead plaintiff deadline applicable to this case, and investors wishing to seek this role should take action before that date. Importantly, investors do not need to serve as lead plaintiff in order to share in any recovery — class membership and potential recovery are available to all eligible investors regardless of whether they seek a leadership role in the litigation.

What should investors do if they purchased Embecta stock during the Class Period?

Investors who purchased Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ: EMBC) securities between November 25, 2025 and May 4, 2026, inclusive, are encouraged to promptly review their brokerage and trading records to confirm any purchases made during the Class Period. It is important to preserve all documentation related to those transactions, including trade confirmations, account statements, and any communications concerning Embecta securities, as such records may be relevant to establishing eligibility and assessing losses. Investors should evaluate their legal options in light of the pending lead plaintiff deadline, as certain procedural rights are time-sensitive. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP is available to speak with investors, review their potential claims, and answer questions about the litigation process prior to the applicable deadline, with no obligation to serve as lead plaintiff in order to participate in any recovery.

Why should investors contact Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP?

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has represented investors in securities litigation for decades and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders. Investors who purchased Embecta securities during the Class Period may contact the firm to discuss their legal rights, potential claims, and the lead plaintiff process at no cost or obligation.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP ( www.faruqilaw.com ). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

CLASS ACTION DEADLINE TONIGHT: Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Reminds Embecta (EMBC) Investors of Securities Class Action Lawsuit Deadline on August 17, 2026