Cubs, Halladay would be a tough fit — 5:43 p.m.

The Cubs would love to trade for Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay, but they would need to clear salary to pull off such a move, major-league sources say.

Jim Hendry has a tough task ahead him. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

Thus, a deal is unlikely.

The Cubs’ offseason will consist of trading outfielder Milton Bradley, finding a new center fielder and perhaps supplementing the bullpen. The team also could end up with Mets second baseman Luis Castillo, perhaps in a three-way deal involving Bradley.

Halladay?

He will earn $15.75 million next season in the final year of his contract. The Cubs already have $42.375 million committed to three starting pitchers — Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly.

Left fielder Alfonso Soriano is too expensive to be moved. Ditto for outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez probably is too valuable for the Cubs to trade.

That leaves first baseman Derrek Lee, who will earn $13 million next season in the final year of his contract and possesses a full no-trade clause.

The Blue Jays would not want Lee’s money. The Braves are among the teams looking for right-handed power, but they would need to off-load a salary — probably right-hander Derek Lowe’s — somewhere else.

It’s all rather complicated and all speculation at this point.

Still, as one friend of Cubs GM Jim Hendry says, “Jim has pulled rabbits out of hats before!”

Season in seven words: “Start fast, end slow, go home. Repeat.” …

Hero: Roy Halladay remains a rock, but Adam Lind was one of the big-boy league’s six or seven best hitters and Aaron Hill wasn’t too far behind …

Loserhead: Vernon Wells lapped Barry Zito as the game’s worst contract. Even though he took responsibility for his non-performance — “nobody has stunk worse than I have,” etc. — that ain’t enough to prompt Jays fans to give him a mulligan for the past two seasons …

Key need: A serious bounty in the inevitable Halladay deal. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to quell the anti-Cito sentiment before it explodes into full-fledged mutiny, either …

Prognosis: Screwed by geography.

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