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. But LoDuca, who hit .283 with six homers and 85 RBI last season, is regarded as one of the top offensive catchers in the game as well as a team leader and positive clubhouse presence. When the offseason began, Minaya cited a closer, a middle-of-the-order first baseman and a catcher as his top three priorities and he has now satisfied all of them, having previously obtained Carlos Delgado in a trade with the Marlins and signed closer Billy Wagner as a free agent. It was not until a trade to send LoDuca to the Arizona Diamondbacks fell through last week that Minaya went back to his Florida counterpart, Larry Beinfest, to land a first-string catcher to replace Mike Piazza.