From the New York Daily News’ Bill Madden (posted at 5:52pm EST)
Mets GM Omar Minaya has crossed catcher off his holiday shopping list, shunning the free agent market and turning once again to the Florida Marlins in a deal for Paul LoDuca, the Daily News has learned.
In exchange for the 33-year-old Brooklyn-born LoDuca, Minaya sacrificed one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects, 21-year-old righthander Gaby Hernandez, a Miami high school product, and another minor leaguer pitcher to be named later.
Minaya also talked to the Devil Rays about their catcher, Toby Hall, but zeroed in on LoDuca when the Diamondbacks-Marlins deal for him was killed because of Arizona’s insistence on Florida including substantial cash in it.