Sanchez among three prospects sent to Minors

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There wasn't much chance of earning an Opening Day roster spot for Carlos Sanchez, who was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, along with left-hander Frank De Los Santos and right-hander Nestor Molina. But his strong camp, during which the 21-year-old hit .538 over nine games, proved the young White Sox infielder is not too far away from the Majors.

"He's a lot closer," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "A few years ago, at 19, people were talking about it. He's at the point now where he's just gotten better. When you see him on the field, he does a lot of things that we like, and being able to follow him, you really notice kind of how he progresses.

"Compared to last year, he came in here and you can see that he just knows how to play. Swinging the bat, playing defense, he played a lot of different positions in the infield, but I just think he's more mature as a player. Even as young as he is, he's come a long way from last year to this year for the staff."

The White Sox would have liked to keep Sanchez, ranked ninth in the organization last year by MLB.com, in camp longer. But with more at-bats going to their everyday players, they wanted him to have that same everyday opportunity on the Minor League side.