Jamey Carroll is apparently going to bid farewell to the Dodgers for a two-year deal with Minnesota that will make him the Twins’ starting shortstop, completing his journey from “we signed who for what?” to what became one of the nicest free-agent pickups in recent Dodger history.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing that Carroll is leaving the Dodgers now.  Though he exceeded expectations in the past two years, at times remarkably so, Carroll will be 38 in February. He will be paid according to how he produced in 2010-11 when he had arguably the two best seasons of his career, as opposed to how he produced before that. In other words, a return engagement with the Dodgers might easily have turned out to be disappointing.

What is clear is that a guy like the 2010-11 version of Jamey Carroll is someone the 2012 Dodgers could very much use.

Previously on Dodger Thoughts:

Remembering 2011: Jamey Carroll
Here’s a word for Jamey Carroll: talented