Six weeks ago, the Star Tribune's Jim Souhan wrote about Brian Dozier's impending free agency after this season and noted that the Twins second baseman was not engaged in contract extension talks with the team.

"I don't want to touch too much on this, it's the thing that gets asked all the time, but at the same time, I will be a free agent this fall," Dozier said.

Six weeks later, nothing appears to have changed. I only circle back on this subject now because of a recent ESPN.com Insider piece that attempted to estimate what sorts of deals free agents might get on the open market next offseason.

If the perception is Dozier might be squeezed because of his age and position in a market that turned cold this past offseason, the ESPN piece at least went against that thinking. He was tabbed as worthy of a five-year, $77 million deal — not a break-the-bank contract, but a make-you-blink deal.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.