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In SanFrancisco, second day of baseball’s Winter Meetings last month, Giants general manager Brian Sabean made it clear that there are no chances that the club would keep catcher Bengie Molina.

“That ship has sailed. That’s not going to be a fallback position for us,” said Sabean, as if saying that star prospect Buster Posey was already prepared to move up to the Major Leagues.

But then, Tuesday proved that contract talks have a way of changing dramatically overnight as the Giants welcomed back Molina. Molina agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.

When Molina’s three-year, $16 million deal with the Giants ended last season, it was expected that he would seek a multiyear contract somewhere else. The Giants were unwilling to meet Molina’s demands for another multiyear deal — not only for economic reasons, but also because they sensed that Posey was ready for full-time catching duties.