Placido Polanco is a second baseman for the
Detroit Tigers. A native of the
Dominican Republic, Polanco was originally drafted by the
Chicago White Sox in the 49th round of the
1993 amateur draft, but he declined a contract. A year later, the
St. Louis Cardinals drafted Polanco in the 19th round, and he signed with the team on
June 9,
1994. He made his
major league debut with the Cardinals on
July 3,
1998. On
July 29,
2002, Polanco was sent to the
Philadelphia Phillies along with
Bud Smith and
Mike Timlin, in exchange for
Scott Rolen,
Douge Nickle, and cash. After a couple of seasons with the Phillies, Polanco was traded to the Tigers for
Ugueth Urbina and
Ramon Martinez. In
2007 Polanco made his first All-Star team.