Ventura told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s very instinctive, good on his feet, quick reactions. He’s a baseball player. He just seems to react properly any time the ball is put in play.”

The key description there is baseball player.

Saladino is not a physical marvel at 6-foot, 200 pounds, and he’s not a five-tool player.

He is a gifted defender, and Saladino first showed that last season when he came up from Charlotte on June 10 and took over as the Sox’s third baseman in a game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Defensively, Saladino is good enough to start for any team in the majors.

Offensively, the San Diego native still has a lot to prove.

Saladino played in 68 games for the White Sox as a rookie and slashed .225/.267/.335.

Positioned to open the current season as the starting shortstop, Saladino lost his job early in spring training when the Sox signed Rollins to a one-year, $2 million contract.

The day before Rollins joined the White Sox, Saladino shrugged off being No. 1 on the depth chart at short.

“I’m never really comfortable, and I never want to be,” he said.

That sounds a lot like a player that bounced from Palomar College to Oral Roberts University to five full seasons in the minor leagues before finally getting a shot.

For now, Saladino is playing a lot like the Giants’ Brandon Crawford, and that is a good thing.

With 5 hits in his last 14 at-bats, including 2 home runs and 5 RBI, Saladino has upped his hitting line to .270/.300/.419.

As the White Sox continue to ponder Anderson’s future, look for Saladino to continue making the most of the present.