Report: Matt Kemp clears waivers, but claim put on Hanley Ramirez

Ah, yes, it’s that time of year. No, not for beaches and family vacations and pushing the credit card limit. For trying to rush every breathing player with a fat contract through waivers.

The Dodgers, of course, have their share of fat contracts and have begun the process.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Tuesday that Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett cleared waivers, but a claim was put on Hanley Ramirez.

None of this is of the shocking variety, but it might be telling that no one wanted Kemp and the $107 million still owed him after the season, great last week or not.

Apparently, understandably, it takes more than five homers in six games to make teams overlook the last 2½ seasons of injury and disappointing production. Plus, let’s face it, there aren’t that many teams eager to take on anyone’s $100-million contract.

Crawford will still be owed $65 million after this season and Ethier $56 million, and both are having down years. Ethier currently isn’t even starting. And both are on the wrong side of 30; Crawford turned 33 Tuesday and Ethier is 32.

Beckett will be a free agent, but he’s struggling, battling injury and owed approximately $5.5 million for the rest of the season. He’s also 34 with over 2,000 innings on him.

As for Ramirez, he can also become a free agent at the end of the season. A team claiming him would be out about $5 million this year, and if you’re a league rival, would be taking potentially their best weapon away from the Dodgers for the rest of the season.

The Dodgers will no doubt pull him back off waivers, though in theory they have three days to work out a trade with the claiming team or just let him go. And neither of those are going to happen.

It’s that time of year, but it hardly means nothing ever comes from it. Witness the Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto, Crawford and Beckett of 2012.