Pretty simple. This was leaked so when the offers are inevitably declined, Shatkins can say "we put our best foot forward and couldn't get anything done". Then if they're out of the race at the deadline they can potentially trade them.
Right, but we all know Shapiro is the real GM. I don't even think about Atkins when I think of the front office. He's just there as a buffer between Mark Shapiro and everything beneath him.