one of depodesta's most notable moves was made at the 2004 trading deadline. he traded catcher paul lo duca, relief pitcher guillermo mota and outfielder juan encarnación to the florida marlins in exchange for pitcher brad penny, first baseman hee seop choi and pitcher bill murphy, in what was reportedly an attempt to pick up pieces to acquire pitcher randy johnson from the arizona diamondbacks. depodesta was heavily criticized in the local and national baseball media for this trade, because lo duca was thought to be the "heart and soul" of the team. the dodgers made the playoffs anyway, with penny developing into one of the better pitchers in the national league during his stint with the dodgers, which lasted until the end of the 2008 season. choi, however, was a disappointment, batting just .161 in 2004 and .253 in 2005, and striking out 80 times in 320 at bats. bill murphy was traded that year to acquire steve finley, who hit 13 homers in 58 games, including a memorable grand slam that clinched the division title. lo duca played through 2005 with the marlins and then went to the new york mets, the washington nationals and back to the marlins, making his final major league appearance in september 2008.