The Oakland Athletics’ trade of right-hander Jharel Cotton to the Cubs for cash considerations on Saturday likely was only the first in a series of moves.



The A’s, facing their usual payroll crunch, are discussing trades of reliever Blake Treinen, utilityman Jurickson Profar and catcher Josh Phegley, according to major-league sources.



All three players are non-tender candidates as they enter their final years of arbitration before reaching free agency. MLBTradeRumors projects Treinen to earn $7.8 million in arbitration, Profar $5.8 million and Phegley $2.2 million.



The Athletics expect their Opening Day payroll to be in the same $90 million range as last season, sources say. The website RosterResource currently projects them at $111.2 million, virtually guaranteeing the purges of some of their 11 remaining arbitration-eligible players.



Shortstop Marcus Semien, in the same five-plus service class as Treinen, Profar and Phegley, is...