CINCINNATI — Outside Terry Francona’s office recently at Great American Ball Park, Dr. Timothy Kremchek saw Tejay Antone and asked the Cincinnati Reds manager, “Are you taking care of my guy?”Kremchek, the team physician for the past 30 years, has operated on Antone’s right elbow three times, most recently two years ago.“Don’t worry,” Antone told Kremchek. “He’s taking care of me.”“No,” Francona said. “I think it’s been the other way around.”The fact that Antone is even in Francona’s bullpen mix is a testament to the right-hander’s drive. He is believed to be one of only three pitchers to return to the majors after undergoing a third Tommy John surgery, joining Jason Isringhausen and Jonny Venters. His comeback even led him to co-write a book on the ordeal, which was published last month.In Wednesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Athletics, Francona summoned Antone from the bullpen with one out in the eighth inning. It was the 32-year-old’s 36th appearance of the season. He retired Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom to get out of the frame, pushing his innings total to a career-high 36. He also was able to hand over to closer Emilio Pagán, who notched his 13th save.“For our bullpen, he’s been a shining light,” said Reds reliever Pierce Johnson, a nine-year veteran with 368 appearances under his belt. “He’s had a ton of success. He started off throwing different innings and he’s earned his way to the eighth inning. He’s been throwing strikes, he’s getting ahead of guys, he’s getting weak contact. What else do you want from a reliever?”How Tarik Skubal strengthens the Dodgers' repeat bidKatie Woo and Jeshua KiddAfter starting the season in the minors, Antone earned a call-up in May.“It’s about staying (in the majors) and doing more than before,” Antone said Thursday. “That just goes to show all the hard work that I’ve put in and the community around me. All the staff members have put in to help me. It takes a community up here. You can’t do this by yourself. It’s been an honor to do that because a lot of people aren’t able to come back from Tommy John, much less two or three.”It’s been a long road. A fifth-round draft pick in 2014, Antone had his first Tommy John surgery while still in the minors in 2017. He came back to make his Reds debut in an empty Great American Ball Park back during the pandemic season of 2020. He was a starter then, with velocity as his calling card. He transitioned to the bullpen in 2021 and quickly earned high-leverage opportunities from manager David Bell, who wasn’t one to hold his top bullpen arms for just the ninth inning.That version of Antone overpowered hitters with a 99-mph fastball, mixed in with a powerful slider and a big, looping curveball. He was effective until his elbow gave out a second time, costing him most of the next two seasons. He returned in late 2023 and made the big-league roster to open 2024. The season wasn’t a month old when he felt a pop in his elbow, requiring Kremchek to perform surgery for the third time.“The first word that comes to mind is fortitude, to be able to just have the mental capacity to do what he’s been able to do,” said Reds left-handed reliever Sam Moll.Moll is among those — including his family, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, athletic trainers, coaches, teammates and so many more — that Antone credits with helping him return to the big leagues. Last season, when both were at Triple-A Louisville, they sat in the bullpen and Antone started asking Moll about his sweeper. It was a pitch that Antone had played with a little bit, but hadn’t really gotten to a place where he could use it in competition.Moll showed him his grip and talked to Antone about how it could be effective for him to mix with his devastating curveball.“Most of us in the ‘pen have learned, whether it’s our grips, pitches, mechanics, feel or approaches, through each other and through the guys we’ve played with in our career. That’s just kind of how it goes,” Moll said. “We’re around each other all the time, so we just pick each other’s brains. Half the time we clown around, the other half we get ready for a game.”It was the sweeper that Antone used to retire Wilson and Soderstrom on Wednesday, pushing his innings total to uncharted territory and adding another chapter to his remarkable story.“The fact that he’s made himself so available the last six weeks has really been impressive because he has been through a lot,” Francona said. “… He’s really done a good job on bouncing back.”