I think it's a good thing Clint Buchanan is not there. OLTL is not good, they're losing fans so fast that it's a shame. Gary Tomlin has good ideas but seems to lack in the department to implement those plotlines for the majority of fans to care. Things either work out or they don't. GT is a working producer what he says one week may not be possible the next or vice versa.
Actors have other commitments that have to be taken into consideration.
So timing can play a part in it too. Any thing can change when you are dealing with so many different actors and their wants. We don't know the behind the scenes reasons for comings and goings. Some of these actors cannot comeback right when the show wants them but then could become available the next month. An actors life is always changing.