DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Max Scherzer is being bumped back from his scheduled start this Thursday while he deals with some right thumb soreness.

Manager John Schneider said Tuesday that the Blue Jays are simply being cautious with the 40-year-old veteran, and they should know more coming out of Wednesday’s off-day.

While there’s no reason for immediate concern, any shift in scheduling at this point is a delicate thing. We saw last year how Kevin Gausman’s delayed start to Spring Training impacted him early in the season, and while he still put together a very strong season, it’s difficult for even baseball’s best pitchers to catch up once they fall behind in camp.

If this is a short-term matter for Scherzer, he has already been built up to a point that he can still easily have himself ready for the first trip through the rotation. That’s what the Blue Jays will hope for as they enter the home stretch of a Spring Training that, outside of Erik Swanson’s forearm and elbow issues, has been fairly good on the health front. That sound you hear is the Blue Jays’ front office knocking on wood.

Scherzer has looked fantastic in his early outings this camp, even though the veteran of 17 MLB seasons continues to reiterate that February and March results don’t matter much. What matters is preparing and getting up to “game speed,” which is so much different than throwing a bullpen session in front of a dozen teammates at 10 a.m. at the Blue Jays’ quiet training complex. Still, the early glimpses have been impressive.

In Scherzer’s last outing on Saturday against the Tigers, he threw 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts on 49 pitches (38 strikes). Next time out, Scherzer is likely scheduled to throw something in the range of the 71 pitches Chris Bassitt threw on Tuesday against the Twins in Dunedin.

Looking at the Blue Jays’ rotation depth beyond their top five, there’s a reason they’ve kept Yariel Rodríguez stretched out all spring, even as the temptation to shorten him up into a bullpen role grows stronger. Lefty Eric Lauer is in camp as rotation depth, but the next level of rotation help is looking thin as Toronto waits on the return of Alek Manoah, who could finish his Tommy John rehab early in the second half of the season. Reliever Ryan Yarbrough and his rubber arm could even be considered if a few starts are needed.

For now, though, the Blue Jays will hope that this is just a minor blip in what has been -- mostly -- a clean and successful camp.