CINCINNATI — With three blown leads of at least four runs in their last five games, the Rangers are facing their first big issue of the season: How do they handle the back end of games? And if a José Leclerc/Will Smith combo isn’t the answer in the ninth, then what is?

Well, here are five potential options to solve the problem: Safe choice: Give Jonathan Hernández an opportunity. His 97 mph fastball is the best in the bullpen. And he’s not going to beat himself with walks as Leclerc has done recently. Hernández has struck out 12 and walked three in 10 innings. The downsides are these: Hernández doesn’t really have closer experience and doesn’t have the kind of super gawdy strikeout numbers you’d like for a closer. There is a lot of contact made on his sinker. One other thing to consider: He really hasn’t worked on back-to-back days often, as is necessary for a premier closer. He pitched on April 11-12, the only time he’s done it this year. He did it four times last year after returning from Tommy John surgery. Also: If you take him out of the swing role in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, who do you replace him with?

The domino guys: Well, if you do move Hernandez to a later role, maybe you could look to the minor leagues to fill his role earlier in games. Yerry Rodriguez, who made his debut at the end of last year, also has power stuff and 14 strikeouts to three walks at Triple-A. For that matter, Joe Barlow, who actually has some closing experience in the majors, has only allowed one baserunner in six innings of his time in Triple-A aimed at building arm strength back. Barlow’s velocity isn’t overwhelming, but he won’t beat himself. Both are also on the 40-man roster, which would make moves a little less complicated. Right-hander Chase Lee is not on the 40-man roster, but the side-armer has intrigued management since the start of camp and he’s pitched well at Triple-A Round Rock. If catcher Mitch Garver is a candidate for the 60-day IL, it would make squeezing Lee onto the 40-man roster a little easier. There are two other veterans at Triple-A worth considering, Dominic Leone and Zack Littell, but the same 40-man issues exist.

The high-risk play: Aroldis Chapman has experience and stuff. He has 316 career saves and is averaging 100 mph on his comeback attempt with Kansas City. On the other hand, the New York Yankees cut ties with him last year before the playoffs after he skipped a workout and essentially quit on the team. One of the planks of Chris Young’s organizational philosophy is: “Be a good teammate.” Would going out and adding Chapman render the philosophy more eyewash than substantive?

The creative thought: If the Rangers want an ultimate competitor, what about contacting the going-nowhere Chicago White Sox about former Ranger Lance Lynn? It would fit so appropriately with this year’s theme of trying to fix everything by simply adding more starters. But consider that Lynn, who turns 36 in two weeks, craves another World Series trip and shortening up his outings at this point might be good for his career. Look, the starter-to-closer route extended careers for Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz. Lynn is a free agent at the end of the season and the White Sox might be keen to save any dollars on the deal they can, so they might take a minimal return. The more traditional approach with the White Sox might be to ask about Kendal Graveman.

All-in: Cincinnati isn’t going anywhere either. Alexis Díaz sure looked effective pitching perfect ninth innings on back-to-back games in the first two days of the series. If you are looking for a potential fit for both the short- and long-term, the 26-year-old brother of Edwin Díaz would be quite attractive. He’s not arbitration-eligible until after 2024. It’s all a very nice package. Until you get to the asking price. If you try to acquire a guy like that now, the asking price is going to be through the roof. There is a premium to pay to act on a guy before the trade market really even opens. You could throw Pittsburgh’s David Bednar into this class, too, but the Pirates are off to a good start and even less likely to be motivated to make a deal on a young closer than Cincinnati.