The Expos have been targeted for elimination under the owners' contraction plan, but the chance of that plan being executed this year is becoming increasingly unlikely.

It would mean they had not been eliminated by Commissioner Bud Selig's contraction plan.

Also at issue was the owners' contraction plan.

A target of the owners' contraction plan for three months this winter, the Minnesota Twins were formally placed on sale yesterday.

Selig subsequently called off the contraction plan for this season in the face of legal challenges to it.

Why did the clubs, after fighting legal challenges to the contraction plan, give it up?

In addition, they feel announcement of the contraction plan unfairly affected players who made decisions about their future plans before the announcement.

Now Vazquez and the others are out of limbo, sort of, because Selig abandoned contraction plans for this season.

The Twins were a prime target of the owners' contraction plan.

As spring training drew nearer, the Twins felt they were safe for this season because time was running out on the contraction plan.