I guess I just don't understand why prospects mean nothing to you. The more good ones you get, the better the odds some make it. Making deals is all about playing the odds.
In theory, Betts, Price, Verdugo, JBJ and Renfroe "aren't worth anything," until we see what they do for the remaining years of team control.
I was one who said pay Betts what it takes. I think I even mentioned 12 or 14 year deals. That's how much I wanted him, but I still see the trade as trading 1 year of Betts, since it looked like we weren't going to pay him. We dumped half of Price's deal along the way, at a time we were not going to need him, even if he rebounded to greatness.
We got 4 years of Verdugo, salary relief (Betts and 1/2 Price) and a couple dirty words (Downs & Wong) for 1 year of Betts.
Like you, I wish we got pitching, and we almost got a good one, but all-in-all, I think the deal was pretty good considering the contexts and nuances involved.
I can certainly see the other side of this coin, though.