Pierce Johnson makes pitch to Shohei Ohtani to join Braves

Alex Anthopoulos certainly isn’t sitting on his hands this offseason; in fact, the Braves are big game hunting.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the club is involved in negotiations with the White Sox for Dylan Cease, who is the most desirable starter on the trade market because he’s under team control for a couple of years.

It’s not just surface-level interest either because Jon Morosi just recently reported that Atlanta is considered a “finalist” for Cease. This comes after a reported offer to Aaron Nola for $162 million over six years, which would’ve been the richest free agent contract in Braves franchise history.

Anthopoulos isn’t messing around this Winter, and the biggest of the fish — Shohei Ohtani — isn’t as unfathomable as once considered.

Ohtani is reportedly “intrigued” by the idea of playing for the Braves, per Jon Morosi, and former general manager Steve Phillips added that Atlanta is a realistic landing spot because of his interest in playing for a contender.

There’s no club better set up to compete year in and year out for championships quite like the Atlanta Braves. If that’s the Japanese unicorn’s chief priority, he knows where to come, but if he doesn’t, Pierce Johnson pitched him exactly why he should join the Braves.