GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Two Tommy John surgeries on his right elbow, rehabilitation, setbacks and two full missed seasons have made Reds reliever Tejay Antone something of an authority on arm care.

“You go through two surgeries, and you pay attention," Antone said. "I always joke that I could run someone else’s rehab program for all I know."

Antone co-owns and operates Kova Sports, a baseball performance gym in Alvarado, Texas. He can talk about tendons, muscle fibers, tissue, daily recovery work and more.

When doing rehab at the Reds' Arizona complex, Antone provided leadership to teammates and Minor Leaguers going through the process. And of course, he knows a little something about pitching.

"I do try to give guys pointers on things that helped me," he said. "I just pay attention. I ask a lot of questions. I’m interested in the human body and helping people."

At Spring Training, Antone has been helping himself as he tries to prove he can pitch at peak performance while staying healthy.

Both will be the key to making the team's bullpen. While his 10.13 ERA through three games doesn't look great, the 2 2/3-inning sample size is small. In Monday's 15-8 win over the A's, the door opened with Antone on the mound in a two-run fifth inning when Jake Fraley misplayed a Ryan Noda fly ball to right field for a two-out RBI triple.

“If Tejay is healthy, Tejay will pitch," pitching coach Derek Johnson said recently. "He’s proven every single time he’s been in the big leagues that he’s been effective, if not elite in some cases. For us, if we can get Tejay to stay healthy all the way through this thing, he’s going to be a big part of our club. To me, it’s really as simple as that.”

Antone, 30, had his first Tommy John procedure as a Minor Leaguer in 2017. The second surgery, in August 2021, derailed a sensational season in which he had a 2.14 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 23 appearances. The right-hander was often pitching in the high 90's mph but met a personal goal of touching 100 mph with his fastball.

He lost his 2022 season to rehab, and just before 2023 Spring Training, another setback came when he suffered a flexor strain in his forearm. That meant more rehab away from the club, but he finally returned to the Majors on Sept. 2.

On Sept. 13, Antone left the game with elbow discomfort and missed the last two weeks of the season while the club was contending. He was diagnosed with tendinitis, ending his season after five games (1.59 ERA).

“Incredibly frustrating," Antone said. "You’re progressing and feeling good and feeling bad and then it’s fine and you’re grinding through it. I got to Triple-A and I was good. I was getting back in the swing of things. It had been two years since I had pitched. I made some good adjustments and then got to the big leagues. It was just frustrating when you do all that work and then there’s just a little bit of inflammation. Then it’s, ‘Let’s shut it down.’ … I do think it was the best decision.”

This spring, Antone is no longer trying to achieve triple-digit velocity to dominate hitters. His fastball has been more in the 91-95 mph range, and he also has a curveball and slider.

But most importantly, his arm feels good.

“Longevity is my goal now," Antone said. "I’m becoming more of a pitcher instead of a thrower. That was one of my big focuses going into this year. How can I be in an area where I can execute pitches really well and stay healthy?”

Antone's biggest spring test -- the one that could determine whether he opens the season in the big leagues -- is if he can pitch on back-to-back days and recover well.

That's a norm for most Major League relievers. Antone plans on honestly communicating with the team if his arm isn't ready.

“I think they will respect it," Antone said. "I think they’ll understand I’m still working towards that as we begin April. I think they have a long-term vision for this whole season for me, instead of it being, ‘No, you have to be ready by day one.’ They want me there deep into the season and healthy all year.”

If deemed ready, Antone knows he will have to keep his competitive juices in check to not overthrow in games that count. The goal isn't just to pitch well, but avoid the injured list for an entire season.

“I think that would be a really huge checkmark to not go on the IL all year," Antone said. "It would be, ‘Cool, I did it, and now it's back to normal.’"