I posted this on the original thread on the topic, but I thought I would bring everyone's comments together to one singular, hopefully competent thought.

This is what the Front Office was thinking. 

Max Scherzer- POTENTIAL future all-pro pitcher who’s lack of a complete 2nd pitch, coupled with his mechanics is a health risk and most likely bound for the bullpen due to his strikeout or no out capabilities. He is under team control for the next 5 years.
Daniel Schlereth- Son of former Broncos lineman Mark Schlereth who’s absolutely filthy curveball is nullified by his inability to actually hit the strike zone with it. First round college relief pitcher who wasn’t even the closer on his college team, yet has closer potential. Also a major health risk due to mechanics. (Trade throw-in)

for

Edwin Jackson- 26 year old starting pitcher with 2 years of team control left. He established himself as a good 2-3 starter with the Tigers last year, but ran out of gas late in the season. His fantastic numbers in the AL would translate better to a weaker hitting NL West, I think with a bit of regression (as his last season would be hard to replicate) would basically keep him around a 3.5 ERA, conservatively. He would slot into Max’s spot in the rotation at 3 and has proven to be durable. 
Ian Kennedy- Yankees starting pitcher (which immediately gives him more value than Schlereth) who has struggled in his 12 major league starts in the heavy hitting AL East. He missed all of last year with an aneurysm. However he came back in the AFL and was lights out against a plethora of future MLBers. The entirety of the front office scouted one of his AFL starts. He has an absolutely filthy changeup and immediately slots into the vacant 4 spot in the rotation.

SO here is what this trade initially boils down to. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a very budget conscious team and if they plan to compete within the next year or two a trade like this had to be done. They give up Max Scherzer who provides at least one year as an unproven starter and as a whole 5 years of uncertainty, whether its 5-6 innings per start, injury or fireballing out of the bullpen. Danny Schlereth is a run of the mill hard thrower out of the ’pen, dime a dozen.

We trade them both for two starters. One, Jackson, is a proven pitcher who can more than handle a role as a number 3 in a NL rotation. Ian Kennedy is unproven but talented enough to be a career 4-5 starter in the AL, perhaps better in the NL. Take Kennedy out of the pressures of pitching in NY and he wouldn’t be the first to improve.

Now the key part of this trade isn’t the players sent or players received it is the personnel transaction. The DBacks have turned one uncertain #3 starting pitcher and middle reliever into a guaranteed #3 starting pitcher and a #4 starting pitcher. Without this they would have to go out and get one in FA. After the Penny signing it looks like the price of a #4 caliber pitcher is $7.5 million a year guaranteed. After a bit of swapping for pitchers and salary they save roughly $4 million dollars and fill a necessary role.

Those saved funds can then be turned towards a bat that can hit left handed pitching and platoon/play 1B or LF. So assuming they do go out and get that bat, the DBacks, achieve two things with this trade. They get a #4 pitcher and a very needed bat. If this trade did not happen the Diamondbacks, with limited funds, would probably have to pick one or the other. Both are essential to compete next year. Without one of these next year would be more of the same of this year. This trade gives them the possibility to compete next year and the year after where without it they would basically be waiting on Jarrod Parker to get healthy again (2 years).

All of this essentially boils down to what you value for Max Scherzer. Do you value the next two years of potential competitiveness, or would you prefer 2-3 year of gross uncertainty and 2 years of competition in 2012? That's for you to decide and next season to reveal. If the Diamondbacks make the playoffs this will all be forgotten or even claimed to be a good move. Especially if everyone's favorite heterochromatic misses significant time to injury or is forced into the bullpen.