OAKLAND -- When Jharel Cotton underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training in 2018, he heard all the noise about the long recovery process. It’s been as arduous as advertised, but he’s nearing the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s a grind, man,” Cotton said. “It has its days, but I’m feeling good.”

Cotton is set to make his third rehab start with Class A Advanced Stockton on Tuesday, with a bump up to 60 pitches planned after being on a 45-pitch limit over his first two outings. After that, he’ll move up to Triple-A Las Vegas to continue his rehab.

The right-hander’s first two appearances with Stockton haven’t exactly been dominant -- he surrendered three home runs over five innings -- but results don’t really matter right now.

“Of course everyone looks at velocity,” Cotton said. "I’m really just looking at pitch location and if I’m throwing strikes.”

Cotton’s fastball has been around 91-93 mph, and of his 45 pitches in his start Thursday, 33 were strikes. That, along with feeling healthy, is what the A’s were hoping for.

The way the A’s starting rotation has performed over the last month -- posting a 2.99 ERA since April 28 -- there might not be a spot available for Cotton once he returns. A short-term move to the bullpen has been discussed and would be on the table since Cotton is expected to be on a strict innings limit.

“There’s only a certain amount of innings for guys coming back from Tommy John and that includes the ones he’s using up right now,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I think there’s some serious thought to that. Try to use their innings and not lose them quickly. We’ll see what the needs are when [he gets] here, but that’s been talked about.”

Luzardo throws live batting practice

Jesus Luzardo, the A’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, threw 15 pitches in a live session of batting practice on Saturday as he recovers from a left shoulder strain. The southpaw was hitting 96 mph with his fastball and is expected to return to pitching in Minor League games at some point in June.