Kyle Schwarber, 2016 World Series champion, still is contributing to the Chicago Cubs.

No, he’s not on their roster or in their organization anymore, but that hasn’t stopped the now-Philadelphia Phillies slugger from giving advice to Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon.

Entering play Monday, Taillon had held left-handed hitters to a .184 batting average this season. The prior two seasons, left-handed hitters hit almost .260 against him.

“He was at a wedding with Kyle Schwarber,” Marquee Sports Network analyst Rick Sutcliffe said during Monday night’s Cubs-San Diego Padres game broadcast. “He says, ‘Kyle, come on. Tell me why left-handers own me.’

“And Kyle said, ‘Because you don’t pitch (inside). You never come in. If you throw a fastball in, you’re not going to back it up — and we all know that.'” Sutcliffe added.

Left-handed hitters went 2-for-9 against Taillon on Monday, and are 3-for-31 (.097) against the right-hander over his last three starts. Improving Taillon’s numbers against lefties was something he and Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy worked on this offseason.

Marquee Sports Network field reporter Taylor McGregor also shared a conversation she had with Hottovy about Taillon’s struggles against lefty hitters.

“In the offseason, we spent a ton of time trying to better attack left-handed hitters.” McGregor said Hottovy told her. “That’s utilizing the fastball in (and) throwing better curveballs.

“They also changed his changeup grip. Now, that is not a pitch he throws a lot. But, they do like the changeup grip to better tunnel with his fastball. (That) has played a little bit into the success against lefties early on in the season.”

With Justin Steele out for the season to have reconstructive elbow surgery, the Cubs will need pitchers such as Taillon to outperform their projections as they hope to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020.