CLEVELAND — The Cubs' Game 6 lineup Tuesday night that featured Kyle Schwarber in the second spot may be a common occurrence in 2017.

When asked if he sees Schwarber batting second more often next season, manager Joe Maddon responded, “Yes, I can. We liked him there before. I like him there now. You want to force the other team to pitch to him.

“With a good leg, he's going to have a high on-base percentage. He's a good baserunner even though he's not the fastest guy. You just want to get him up there in a position where they have to pitch to him.”

There are plenty of considerations for next season, especially with the possibility of leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler leaving via free agency.

But Schwarber, 23, who returned for the Series after missing nearly all of the regular season because of left knee surgery, provides an attractive fit batting higher in the order because of his .355 on-base percentage in his rookie season, his power, his ability to work deep counts and his left-handed bat.

The return of Schwarber could help offset the potential departure of Fowler to an offense that scored 808 runs.

“Schwarber, of course, is going to add a lot of offense, a lot of power,” Maddon said. “Just the prestige in the lineup and how it's going to have a positive impact on other hitters.

“His presence matters and how he is, how everyone feeds off him. All those ancillary benefits you're going to receive are hard to evaluate in advance, but I think they're all going to feel them next year.”

Not safe at second:Javier Baez has started every playoff game at second base, but Maddon stressed that it's not certain Baez will be the permanent second baseman in 2017.

“It just depends on how you configure the team,” said Maddon, referring to the full-time return of Schwarber, how the Cubs resolve their center field position and the status of versatile Ben Zobrist, who played in 119 games at second — including the regular season finale.

Maddon said he would employ Zobrist, who has been starting in the outfield during the playoffs, at second only in case of an emergency.

For Game 6, Maddon opted to start Baez, who was 3-for-21, and Jason Heyward in right field because of their defense.

Maddon also spoke with Baez about mental concepts regarding attacking a pitcher.

“I believe you can handle almost an infinite amount of mental concepts before a game,” Maddon said. “But it's hard to pile on any kind of physical concepts.”