Tiger Offer Is Rejected by Morris : Baseball: Winningest pitcher of ‘80s becomes a free agent. Relief pitcher Berenguer leaves Twins, is signed by Braves.

Jack Morris elected to become a free agent Tuesday, and relief pitcher Juan Berenguer left the Minnesota Twins and signed with the Atlanta Braves for $2.1 million over two years.

Three other new-look free agents faced a 9 p.m. PST deadline to decide their futures. Angel outfielder Chili Davis was talking with the Minnesota Twins, but no offers were reported for pitchers Mike LaCoss of the San Francisco Giants and Dave LaPoint of the New York Yankees.

The five were among 15 players granted new-look free agency Dec. 7 as part of the $280-million collusion settlement. The 15 had until the Tuesday night deadline to re-sign with their clubs, stay with their teams under their existing contracts or become free agents.

Morris chose the third option and thus abandoned both his roster spot with Detroit and his salary arbitration case. The pitcher had been asking for $3.35 million, while the Tigers were offering $9.3 million over three years, according to Tiger spokesman Dan Ewald. Morris’s salary in 1990 was $2.1 million.

Richard Moss, the pitcher’s agent, said the Tigers had offered a multiyear deal and that other teams were interested in Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980s. But he indicated he was unsatisfied with other teams’ offers when he said, “Jack has no interest in a one-year contract.”

Moss, who would not identify the other teams, said he believed the Tigers still were interested in attempting to re-sign the 35-year-old Morris, who was 15-18 last season with a 4.51 earned-run average. However, no Detroit officials could immediately be reached for their reaction.

Berenguer, 36, was 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA and no saves in 51 relief appearances last season.