THE SIDELINES : Expos Owner May Sell Ballclub

Montreal Expos owner Charles Bronfman said today he would consider selling the team but only if the purchaser agreed to keep the club in Montreal.

The Expos owner responded to a report in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated that said Bronfman wants to sell and that a Florida investment group in Orlando or St. Petersburg might bid for the franchise early in 1990.

“I’m thinking of selling, but not to just anyone,” Bronfman said. “The most important thing for me is that the team stays in Montreal.”

The Expos have lost Mark Langston, Bryn Smith and Pascual Perez to free agency and replaced them with Joaquin Andujar, Oil Can Boyd and Dave Schmidt.

“The Expos are run by good baseball men,” Bronfman said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there this year and we’ll be more competitive than some people have been led to believe.”