Oh I agree with you completely. We were in a weird spot at that time as were on the fringe of being a buyer or seller and they finally decided to sell but sounded like there was not a deal to be made for Taillon that made sense. He still had 2 years left on a reasonable deal and we had a need for pitching so instead of giving him away for nothing they saw value in keeping him. I don't get why some hate on him, he was probably our best healthy starting pitcher in the playoffs and pitched really well late in the season. Even if he is not at the top of his game you could do a lot worse for a #4 or 5 starter in your rotation. It's a perception issue because some seem to think we signed him to be a top end of the rotation starter which because of injuries or failure to sign or trade for guys to fill those spots he has had to at times by default. This season he's slotted exactly where he should be which is at the bottom end of the rotation.
I don't hate Happ but I have never been a fan of why the FO game him a full no-trade clause when they extended him. He's an above average OF especially for his glove but he's not elite enough to have a no-trade clause IMO. When you pair that with giving another NTC to Suzuki and essentially lock yourself out of 2 corner OF spots you could upgrade at that was just a poor decision by the FO. I've also felt they missed the boat a few times to trade him before they gave him that NTC when he was at his peak value and we could have gotten a decent return for him during some mediocre/bad years.
That is all in the past, both these guys are in the last year of their contracts and are going to be counted on to fill roles this year whether someone likes them or not.
