Nothing imminent for a Brian Dozier extension?

Nine days ago, Mike Berardino reported that "a person who had been briefed" on a potential extension for Brian Dozier said that the sides were close. A week ago we discussed whether or not an extension was a good idea for Dozier, and indeed what kind of an extension might make the most sense. Since then it's been radio silence.

At least until earlier today when Twins Assistant General Manager Rob Antony was on the radio with Darren Wolfson.

#MNTwins Ass't GM Rob Antony on with us right now on @1500ESPN. Says nothing close on a Dozier extension. Me: talks continue.

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) March 12, 2015

This can, of course, be taken with a grain of salt. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Twins announce something tomorrow, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the Twins announce something in two weeks' time. But whether you agree with the idea of an extension for Dozier or not, it's definitely being discussed.

A number of fans on our Facebook page have expressed their support for locking Dozier up. We weren't quite so gung-ho about it, however - partially because of the combination of Dozier's age and years of team control remaining, but also because of the organization's middle infield depth.

As admirable as that list of talent is, and as comforting as it is to see the depth that's there, none of it is a known quantity in terms of Major League talent. And if we take off our rose-tinted glasses, we see issues:

• Danny Santana had shown no sign of being able to hit like an All-Star, and should be expected to regress heavily at the plate
• Eduardo Escobar - same story
• Eddie Rosario is more of an outfielder than an infielder; his natural position is center field
• Jorge Polanco shouldn't be expected to even compete to take over a full-time role until 2016
• Levi Michael has a lot to prove before he profiles as anything other than a utility infielder with an arm too weak for the left side of the infield
• Nick Gordon is years away

Sorry to be a bummer. Still, in spite of all of the caution that should be exhibited when it comes to projecting our middle infielders, Dozier is under team control for four more seasons (2015 - 2018) and he'll be in his age-31 season at the tail end of that stretch. If the Twins do truly feel as though an extension is a good decision, it certainly shouldn't go beyond three or, at a maximum, four years.

Players are notorious for wanting to avoid distractions, and therefore not wanting extension negotiations to seep into the regular season. For that purpose, if this is something that both sides want to get wrapped up then they'll need to do so in the next three weeks.