The Expos will likely stay put in Montreal for the 2003 season, but baseball is considering having the team play a few of its home games in other cities, a source close to commissioner Bud Selig told The Washington Post.

The games under consideration for the plan would occur at the end of road trips. San Juan and Portland, Ore. are two of the cities being looked at, the source told the Post under the condition of anonymity.

The Washington area, which has long been campaigning for a major league team and had in recent years been trying to lure the Expos, is not expected to be among those sites. Investor groups in that area have shown little interest in the team playing a limited number of games at RFK Stadium in 2003.

The source said it would take at least 10 days before a decision is made. Moving any of the Expos' 81 home games would require approval from the MLB players' union.

The commissioner's office will begin to look at long-term possibilities for the future of the Expos -- currently under MLB control -- after the World Series, the source told the Post.

Earlier this month, executives of the Expos and the commissioner's office met with Puerto Rican officials to discuss moving some home games to Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Among those who traveled to the Caribbean island were Claude Delorme, the Expos' executive vice president of business affairs, and Lou Melendez, vice president of international baseball operations in the commissioner's office.

''They are making an exploratory trip to Puerto Rico to see if they can bring some games,'' said Ramon Cantero Frau, Puerto Rico's economic development secretary. ''Bringing the team here (permanently) was never discussed.''

Atlanta businessman Charles Vaughn and a group of Puerto Rican investors are interested in buying the Expos and moving the team to San Juan in 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.