Oh absolutely. GMs are talking all the time. And sometimes it is close, but your gut says "not do it". What if in 1990 the Sox got a GREAT offer to trade Thomas elsewhere for say, Bo Jackson or Cecil Fielder. Those were both established major leagures with a TON of up side. It oculd have been done. At the time, you couldnt tell how Frank would progress. As it turns out, Frank was one of the best hitters of all time in the early to mid 90s. And as for Bo and Cecil, well, they arent even playing anymore.