Amid national reports the Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers had reached an “impasse” in their on-again, off-again trade talks regarding second baseman Brian Dozier, Twins general manager Thad Levine suggested it’s never over until it’s over.

“I think that’s the obligation we have to ownership here, to our fans, to our players,” Levine said Wednesday night on the Twins’ weekly “Deep Cuts” radio show on Go 96.3 FM, “which is we’re never going to narrow the field over our ability to help the franchise in the short and long term. So any sort of deadline or saying we can’t work with specific teams because of how they’ve worked with us in the past, (chief baseball officer Derek Falvey) and I will never do that. We’ll never curtail our ability to improve the club.”

Levine, who never mentioned the Dodgers or other rumored suitors connected to Dozier over the past two-plus months, went on to say any reported deadlines are artificial at best. Related Articles Twins beat White Sox, but Jake Odorizzi leaves start early with finger issue

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“In this case in particular it was reported there was a hard-and-fast deadline,” Levine said. “I can assure you that is not the way we’re going to operate. First of all we would never use that as a ploy just to leverage a negotiation. I think that’s pretty flimsy and transparent on its own merits.

“The reality is there’s going to be a point in time in this offseason where we may stop initiating calls but we’re always going to pick up the phone and hear teams out. We would be imprudent not to do that, and I assure you Derek and I will never let one of our individual principles get in the way of helping this franchise. So we’ll never put ourselves in intractable positions that will cost this franchise in the near or long term.”

Dozier followed Levine on the weekly show, admitting this “awkward offseason” has been “a learning experience, an eye-opening experience” for him and his family in terms of “digging deeper into how other clubs value you.”

The Dodgers, according to sources familiar with the talks, were willing to part with right-hander Jose De Leon, their top-rated pitching prospect, but steadfastly refused to include a second high-end pitching prospect such as Yadier Alvarez, Walker Buehler or even Brock Stewart.

That could still change with one phone call, but in the meantime the Twins are appreciative of the way Dozier, signed through 2018 at a combined $15 million, has handled the daily speculation.

“I have a ton of respect for how he’s handled himself,” Levine said. “The fans should be really proud of him. What he does on the field is unparalleled in the game. What he does off the field is equally impressive.”