The Placido Polanco for Ugueth Urbina (and Ramon Martinez) trade with the Phillies on June 8, 2005 was one of the best trades that Dave Dombrowski made in his years as Tigers President and General Manager. He described Polanco as someone who “knows how to handle the bat” and was “a good all around player”.
Polanco may not have been a familiar name to fans that hadn’t watched much National League baseball, but longtime Philadelphia sportswriter Jim Salisbury knew what kind of building block Dombrowski had acquired. Possibly sending Tigers fans a glimpse of the future, Salisbury wrote,
“His bat and glove seldom get stale, and it’s nice to have those guys on teams with championship aspirations.