Mets are busy bodies in the trade mart.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: Phil Rogers

CHICAGO _ No team was busier on the eve of baseball's deadline for waiver-free trades than the New York Mets, who were in fourth place in the National League East and eighth in the wild-card race. The long odds against them making the playoffs didn't stop them from adding starting pitchers Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the NL West, traded an All-Star catcher, Paul Lo Duca, for a former All-Star on his way down, Charles Johnson.

And as the clocked ticked toward the 3 p.m. Saturday deadline, the Dodgers still were trying to pull off a trade that would give them Randy Johnson. Never mind that …