PITTSBURGH -- Miguel Yajure will not see any time with the Pirates until the second half of the season.

Triple-A Indianapolis announced Thursday that, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Pirates, it had transferred the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Yajure was initially placed on the 7-day IL with right forearm and elbow discomfort on June 2 (retroactive to June 1), which means he will not be eligible to be activated until the end of July.

However, manager Derek Shelton classified the transfer as a “paper move.”

“It has nothing to do with his progression,” Shelton said. “It has nothing to do with where he’s at.”

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk hinted that the club would take its time with Yajure, who has been dealing with a “sensation” in his right elbow area since late May. General manager Ben Cherington said last week that the right-hander was symptom-free, and Tomczyk said Yajure has been throwing on flat ground at the Pirates’ Minor League complex in Bradenton, Fla.

“He has resumed throwing, which is an encouraging sign,” Tomczyk said. “This is not something that we’re going to rush back. We’re going to make sure that all parties, notably Miguel, feel comfortable, confident.”

The 20-game stretch without an off-day would have been an ideal time to get Yajure a spot start at the Major League level, as he’s done twice this season already, including five shutout innings against the Giants on May 14. But this move eliminates the possibility of another plug-and-play.

“We’ve seen flashes in the small sample size we’ve seen of him at the big league level,” Shelton said. “We’ve seen him be able to attack Major League hitters. But first and foremost, the most important thing for us and for him is just him getting healthy.”

Yajure has made three starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, allowing seven runs in 17 innings with 17 strikeouts and five walks. He last pitched in a game on May 26.

Cruz getting outfield reps

Shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz was spotted by a fan at PNG Field in Altoona, Pa., working in the outfield, and Shelton confirmed the Pirates’ No. 3 prospect had begun taking reps there.

Cruz, who played 38 of his 39 games at shortstop this season at Double-A entering Thursday (one DH appearance), has been exceptional for the Curve offensively. He’s recorded a .908 OPS with nine doubles, three triples and eight homers, while swiping nine bases.

What’s keeping him from a move to Triple-A? Cherington and his staff would like to see more games out of Cruz at Double-A in general to make sure the consistency is there.

Also, the defense is a key concern. The hard-throwing infielder has committed 11 errors in 38 games at shortstop, but it’s more than just cleaning up the mistakes. Cherington said last week that he’d like to see Cruz bounce around defensively, and he’d prefer for the 22-year-old to do that at the Double-A level. That fits with Cherington’s view that a Triple-A player is effectively not a prospect as much as a Major Leaguer in coming.

“I think we almost owe it to players to give them a chance to do it so that they kind of have those tools in their belt so to speak, in case [a callup opportunity] comes up,” Cherington said. “When you get to the upper levels, yes, need does start to come into play, and if the guy's doing really well in all facets of the game and there's opportunity at a certain position, well we want that player to be able to take advantage of it.”