Both the Yankees and the Mets were caught sleeping yesterday when the Chicago Cubs dealt their starting catcher, Michael Barrett, to the San Diego Padres for a bag of beans. Either of the New York clubs would have found their short and long-term prospects enhanced by having the scrappy backstop for the rest of the season.

Neither team has a catcher signed beyond this season. It seems likely that the Yankees would want to re-sign Jorge Posada after the great year he’s having, and equally likely that Posada would want to remain, but you can never tell when a player or an agent is going to overreach. Posada turns 36 in August, and anything more than a two-year deal is going to expose the Yankees to excessive risk. Paul Lo Duca is 35, and the Mets would be foolish to resign him at all, barring a complete absence of other candidates. Barrett, 30, likely has a longer shelf-life than either.

It happens that Barrett will also be a free agent at season’s end. It is often the case, though, that a player at rest stays at rest. The Padres will now have first crack at retaining Barrett should they chose to do so, and Barrett may find San Diego a rewarding place to live and play. The Yankees or Mets could have been in the position to make that case for New York and the new ballparks that both teams have coming.

Barrett is not a great defensive catcher, as far as throwing or in calling a game ( just ask Carlos Zambrano and Rich Hill, both of whom apparently had thoughts of homicide after one too many disagreements with their receiver), but he’s sufficiently accomplished that he could have removed the need for the impotent backup catcher Wil Nieves. As was made clear on Tuesday night, when Joe Torre had to push an obviously reluctant Posada to play first base so Nieves could catch Mike Mussina, the Yankees’ reserve is such a poor hitter that heroic measures are required whenever he plays, none of which does anything to make up for the fact that he’s an automatic out.

Barrett is a good enough hitter (.256 AVG/.307 OBA/.427 SLG this year, .289/.349/.494 from 2004 to 2006) that he could have been more than just a once-a-week backstop. He could have taken turns at designated hitter and first base or freed Posada to do the same. He also would have given the Yankees much-needed depth. Right now the Yankees are one home plate collision from disaster; in the absence of Posada, the Yankees’ hopes for the postseason would vanish.

The Mets’ position at catcher is diametrically opposed to that of the Yankees. Their backup catcher actually has a bit of pop. Their starter does not. Throughout his career, Lo Duca has posted numbers that are not as good as they look. He’s an excellent contact hitter who is good for a single or double every few trips to the plate, but because he neither walks nor hits many home runs, he battles to be an average producer. This year has been especially difficult, as the hits just aren’t falling in with any consistency. Although Lo Duca’s .296 batting average looks strong, it really represents a torrid May bookended by anemic months in April and June. The catcher’s .238/.273/.302 this month has been a contributing factor to the team’s 4–13 record.

The Mets have little catching depth in their organization — their best prospect in this regard, Jesus Flores, was spirited away by the Nationals in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. Yet, re-signing Lo Duca would almost certainly be a mistake. As his batting average declines over the coming seasons, as it is almost certain to do, he will lose his lone asset at the plate, leaving whoever employs him with a .250/.310/.350 hitter. It might be better than replacement level, but not by a whole lot.

Ironically, Barrett will almost certainly be among the free agent options the Yankees and Mets pursue this off-season, even if only to leverage the incumbents into friendlier contracts. The coming free agent class is short on other options, and Posada in particular could find himself in some demand should the Yankees take the same kind of inflexible position they did with Andy Pettitte after 2003. The only other catcher of similar cachet will be the rapidly aging Ivan Rodriguez, assuming the Tigers decline his $13 million option for 2008. The former MVP will turn 36 in November, and as with Lo Duca, when his batting average fades there won’t be much left — see, Rodriguez’s pudgy 2005, when he batted .276/.290/.444.

The Padres are to be congratulated. Having been disillusioned that Josh Bard could repeat last season’s 231 at-bat fluke, they saw a chance to make up for their error on the cheap and took it. They have clearly improved their chances of going to the postseason. Similar action on the part of the Mets and Yankees waits for another day.

Mr. Goldman writes the Pinstriped Bible for yesnetwork.com and is the author of “Forging Genius,” a biography of Casey Stengel.