With the season winding down and a ton at stake, bullpen play is becoming more and more important for the teams in the playoff hunt.

As always, we are here to take a look around the MLB closer and bullpen situations around the league. Some of these players may be viable waiver wire pickups for your teams.

Editor's Note: Bookmark our MLB Closers & Saves Depth Charts for the latest look at all the current closers, setup men, longshots and relief pitcher waiver wire adds.

MLB Closers & Saves Waiver Wire - Week 23

Brett Cecil (RP, TOR)

With the Blue Jays in World Series or bust mode, their shaky bullpen play could help determine their fate. Lucky for them Brett Cecil, who struggled mightily early in the season, has been incredible recently. He has now gone 20 consecutive innings without allowing a run, and has 22 strikeouts in that same time span. While he hasn’t been getting many save chances of late, he is someone to look at as a possible waiver wire pickup as the season winds down. Current closer Robert Osuna has now given up a run in his last two appearances, and with the season hanging in the balance he could be on a short leash. Cecil is only 5.3% owned in ESPN leagues so keep an eye on him as we head into the playoffs.

Ken Giles (RP, PHI)

After the trade of Jonathan Papelbon, Giles has actually been one of the best closers in the game. In his last 10 appearances, Giles has seven saves and 12 strikeouts. He has nasty stuff and an upper 90’s fastball that is dangerous when he’s throwing strikes. At only 67% owned in ESPN leagues, he’s still a great waiver wire option even though the Phillies aren’t in playoff contention.

Jean Machi (RP, BOS)

Machi is struggling and should be dropped in all leagues. There really is no reason to have any Red Sox reliever on your fantasy team at this point. Machi has allowed eight runs in his last seven appearances and doesn’t record strikeouts as it is. The Red Sox gave him a chance to close games and he just hasn’t come through at all. Time to give up on Machi if you have him on your team.

Kevin Jepsen (RP, MIN)

Jepsen has been getting the save opportunities for the Twins and at only 39% owned in fantasy leagues, is a nice waiver wire option to end the season. While he's not completely lights out, he does average close to a strikeout per inning and hasn't blown a save since July 3rd. Jepsen is a steady closer and definitely someone to add if you're in need of Saves at this point in the season.

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