VERIFIED DEAL: The Texas Rangers have officially acquired a highly experienced Right-hander from the Cincinnati Reds on a 3-years deal worth $86m to replace their injured player. However…

Max Scherzer delayed his second rehab start because of soreness in the thumb on his throwing hand. Scherzer, who is returning from December back surgery, said the injury just needs a few extra days to subside.

Right-hander Max Scherzer hit a speedbump on his fast-track return to the Texas Rangers rotation.

The future Hall of Famer has delayed his next rehab start because of ligament soreness in his throwing thumb. He was scheduled to make his second rehab start Tuesday night with Double-A Frisco at Corpus Christi.

Scherzer, who turns 40 in July, says a few days of rest should be enough for the issue to subside. He first detected discomfort in the thumb during a simulated game in Atlanta two weeks ago, ahead of his initial rehab start on April 24.

“It was okay in the rehab start; I was able to manage it, but going through this turn in the rotation coming out of the bullpen, it was just going to get worse, and then it was starting to leak into the forearm,” Scherzer said. “The forearm was getting tight on me, and once I started getting forearm tightness, we made that decision [Monday] to scratch the start.”

Though frustrated with the delay, Scherzer, manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Chris Young aren’t too concerned.

“It’s a minor setback, and we’re talking days, not weeks,” Bochy said. “We’ll let this thing clear up, and we’ll get him back to work. We’re not going to push him. You have to expect these things. He’s coming back from a pretty good layoff. The good news is, it’s not his back. His thumb is a little sore and that will clear up.”

In fact, Scherzer said the point of the rest is to make sure “nothing bad happens.”

“I just need a couple of days to let everything breathe, get everything back underneath me,” he said. “There’s nothing really structurally wrong, it’s just some discomfort and I just need to let that subside so nothing bad happens. I’m not overly concerned. This will go away, I just need some time to let it breathe.”