With Lee (back) nearing return, Encarnacion (finger) now in question

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Giants remain optimistic that Jung Hoo Lee will have enough time to recover from his back tightness and be ready for Opening Day, but they ended up adding another outfielder to their list of injury concerns on Friday.

Right fielder Jerar Encarnacion exited San Francisco’s 5-4 win over Cleveland after jamming his left ring finger while attempting to make a diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Ralphy Velasquez in the top of the seventh inning.

Encarnacion, who entered the game just moments before to replace Mike Yastrzemski, took an awkward route to the ball and was slow to get up after his glove appeared to get caught on the ground. The Giants planned to send Encarnacion for X-rays and should have a better outlook on his prognosis once they get those results.

“It’s easier said than done playing right field here in Spring Training when you’re just coming in a game, too,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He was just trying to lay out and make a good play. He just caught his fingers underneath.”

The injury is a tough development for Encarnacion, who was in line to nab a spot on the Giants’ bench after batting .302 with an .856 OPS, two home runs and 14 RBIs over 20 Cactus League games this spring. If he’s unavailable for the start of the season, the club could opt to carry another hitter such as Grant McCray, David Villar or veteran Jake Lamb, who was part of the latest round of roster cuts on Friday morning.

Lee hasn’t played since March 13 after waking up with a tight back last week, but he’s expected to resume baseball activities on Saturday and is hoping to return to action in Sunday’s exhibition game against Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants also have two more exhibition games against the Tigers at Oracle Park next week, which should give Lee more opportunities to complete his ramp-up and make sure he’s ready to go for the regular season.

Still, San Francisco will likely err on the side of caution with the 26-year-old Lee, who missed most of his rookie season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

“Opening Day is very important,” Lee said via interpreter Justin Han. “If I’m ready to play for Opening Day, then of course, I’m going to be on the field. But I do want to mention that Opening Day is just a game out of 162 games. I’m just looking at this in the long run. If I’m ready, I’ll be there, but if not and there’s more time for me to adapt, I would like to use that time, for sure.”

McCray and Luis Matos have both played center field for the Giants in recent days, so they could both be candidates to start there on Opening Day if Lee needs more time to heal.

Webb gets final tuneup
Logan Webb tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Guardians on Friday in his final tuneup before Opening Day, though he felt he could have done a better job at filling up the strike zone in the 77-pitch outing.

“It’s probably the worst I feel like I’ve thrown this spring, strike-wise,” Webb said. “I feel like I was 1-0 to every hitter. I had three guys get to 3-0. That was kind of disappointing, but I felt really good. It was good results, so I’ll take it.”

Despite his quibbles, Webb will head into the regular season with some positive momentum after logging a 1.77 ERA over five Cactus League starts. It was certainly a welcome change from the 10.97 ERA he posted over his six exhibition starts last year.

“I joke around with the guys and say I’m not a very good spring pitcher, but I’m excited with the way things have gone,” Webb said.

Camp cuts
The Giants optioned right-hander Tristan Beck and outfielder Wade Meckler and reassigned catcher Logan Porter, left-hander Enny Romero and Lamb to Minor League camp, leaving 37 players in big league camp with six days to go until Opening Day.

Beck, 28, was the most notable cut, as he was viewed as a possible bullpen option after recovering from surgery to remove an aneurysm in his upper right arm last year.

“Just the fact that Tristan is 100 percent now and kind of doing his thing is great, based on what he went through last year,” Melvin said. “Unfortunately, there’s some guys ahead of him right now. But as we’ve seen in the past, his versatility is going to play for him at some point in time, whether it’s starting, whether it’s long relief, whether it’s short relief.”