MILWAUKEE -- The Twins officially announced today that they've signed infielder Jamey Carroll to a two-year deal with a mutual option for 2014.
The guaranteed money in the deal is $6.75 million. La Velle had the specific contract details in this piece last week.
Many in the industry believe the Twins overpaid to get Carroll, who turns 38 in February. Other teams such as the Rockies were looking at him as a second baseman.
Carroll will come to spring training in February with an understanding that the Twins shortstop job is basically his to lose.
Make no mistake, Carroll is a better second baseman than shortstop, but the Twins were determined to add a sure-handed shortstop for 2012, after watching Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Trevor Plouffe and Alexi Casilla struggle there last season.
Plouffe is moving to the outfield. If Nishioka puts his broken leg ordeal behind him and wows the Twins next spring, it's possible he could regain the shortstop job with Carroll moving to second base.
The Twins like Casilla, but they're not guaranteeing him anything. He never has played more than 98 games in a season and hasn't been consistently good for more than three months in any stretch of his career.
If the competition brings out the best in Nishioka and Casilla, Carroll also could move to third base, where he would push Danny Valencia.
