The frustrating inconsistency of Clay can be put in the past with no hard feelings, and I root for him to flourish in Philadelphia. It would have been cool if we got Anderson Espinoza in return instead, but that's not how the world works. With Espinoza already gone, Drew P was a better bet than Clay B for the season, keeping everybody didn't really work, and given roster construction with or without him, there is little reason to think that Clay would have been worth $13m to us this season in value over other guys ready to take the ball.
So the trade by itself makes sense if you feel reasonably confident in Pomeranz and Wright, which I do, and you don't have a better trade lined up for one of them if you think Clay would be at a similar level. We clearly solidified the lefty heaviness of the rotation, depending on where Wright and Pomeranz fall, and that is a little concerning when facing unbalanced lineups like the 2016 Blue Jays in a short series. But I think better pitching trumps handedness, and "balance" is more important in a lineup than in a rotation.
So the trade by itself makes sense if you feel reasonably confident in Pomeranz and Wright, which I do, and you don't have a better trade lined up for one of them if you think Clay would be at a similar level. We clearly solidified the lefty heaviness of the rotation, depending on where Wright and Pomeranz fall, and that is a little concerning when facing unbalanced lineups like the 2016 Blue Jays in a short series. But I think better pitching trumps handedness, and "balance" is more important in a lineup than in a rotation.