The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - While the Montreal Expos prepared to pare payroll, the commissioner's office got ready for the first step in the process of selling the team.

The commissioner's office telephoned government officials in Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; and Portland, Ore., and told them that if they are interested in having the Expos move to their area, they should express an interest by the end of February.

There was no formal announcement by the commissioner's office, but details were provided Saturday by a high-ranking baseball official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"These were areas that we had heard were possibly interested, areas that we had been reported in the newspapers as possibly being interested," the baseball official said. "It was nothing formal, no forms, no questionnaire, not a request for proposal or anything like that."

After baseball's plan to eliminate the Expos and Twins last winter was stopped by the Minnesota courts, the Expos were bought by the other 29 teams for $120 million from Jeffrey Loria, who purchased the Florida Marlins for $158.5 million from John Henry, who was part of the group that paid a record $660 million for the Boston Red Sox.

The Expos are being operated by the commissioner's office, which has ordered the team to keep its payroll to about the same level as this year, approximately $40 million. To do that, general manager Omar Minaya must trade players.

To increase revenue for the Expos, whose home attendance is among the lowest in the majors, the commissioner's office is moving 21 home games next season from Montreal to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The commissioner's office would like to sell the Expos by the 2004 season, and commissioner Bud Selig last month established a committee to be in charge of the process. No team has moved since the expansion Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.

Baseball's inquiries to cities were first reported Saturday by The Washington Post. BAT BOYS

Major league general managers probably will make a recommendation of a minimum age for bat boys when they meet Monday on the final day of the winter meetings.

The issue became a hot topic when Darren Baker, the 3-year-old son of Dusty Baker, wandered into a play at the plate and almost got run over before J.T. Snow scooped him up during Game 5 of the World Series.

Commissioner Bud Selig said after the general managers' meetings last month in Tucson, Ariz., that he wanted a minimum in place by next season, but he didn't specify what that age would be.

"I don't want my boy to wait six more years," Dusty Baker, now the manager of the Chicago Cubs, said Saturday. "I hope one mistake doesn't spoil it for a lot of kids. I don't want it to go down in history as the 'Darren Baker Rule."'

It's not clear if the GM's recommendation must be approved by owners when they meet in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan. 15 and 16.

"If they said no kids under 15 in the dugout, we'd certainly be against that," San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan said before Game 6 of the World Series. "I think our fans love our bat boys. They're nice looking, they're well-behaved. I think it's one of the reasons players want to play for the Giants."

Baker intends to have his son, who is shorter than most bats, scamper about Wrigley Field next season but knows it probably won't be as a bat boy.

"His mother explained it to him," Dusty Baker said. "He says he can wait six more years, but he doesn't understand how long that is. He asks me every day, 'Is Christmas tomorrow? Six years is a long time. I'll still bring him on the field before the game. He loves that."