Is Jeferson Quero Ready to Back Up William Contreras?

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After spending nearly a month with the Brewers as a member of their taxi squad from late September through their postseason run to the NLCS, Jeferson Quero has returned to game action in winter ball. In the hitter-friendly Venezuelan Winter League, he has slashed .269/.356/.558 with four home runs.

"He's a great kid, and he's a good player, and we're seeing it in winter ball right now," Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager Matt Arnold said earlier this week at MLB's annual GM Meetings in Las Vegas. "He's doing great. I feel like I get a new highlight emailed or texted to me every [day]. 'Hey, he hit another homer.' It's cool."

With veterans Eric Haase and Danny Jansen no longer in the organization, Quero is the only full-time catcher on the 40-man roster, other than William Contreras. (Anthony Seigler is there, too, but has been predominantly an infielder for the last three seasons.) The Brewers could add a veteran to the mix this offseason to bolster their depth, but barring such an acquisition, Quero is in line to make his major-league debut next year as Contreras's backup.

"We're always looking for depth, and competition is a good thing," Arnold said of Milwaukee's catching mix. "But I think Jeferson is a really special kid."

A couple of years ago, it seemed Quero's moment would come much sooner. He breezed through three levels in his first two years of full-season ball, despite being nearly four years younger than his average peer at High A and Double A. His strong bat-to-ball skills played just fine against older pitching, and the hope was that he could translate more of his raw power into games down the line. Defensively, his elite throwing arm and mature handling of pitching staffs turned heads.

Entering his age-21 season, Quero looked like the complete package and appeared on the cusp of reaching the majors. The Brewers selected his contract in November 2023 to protect him from that winter's Rule 5 draft, and he began the following season in Triple-A Nashville. Unfortunately, a pair of injury-marred seasons slowed what had been a quick ascent.

Quero's first regular-season plate appearance of 2024 would be his last, as he suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder on a dive back into first base and underwent season-ending surgery. A hamstring injury delayed his return to play until June 2025, after which the Brewers frequently utilized him as a DH to ease him back into the rigors of catching.

When he did catch, Quero was not his usual self behind the plate. Most notably, his dominance over opposing running games (quantified by Baseball Prospectus as Swipe Runs) cratered.

Season	Framing Runs	Blocking Runs	Swipe Runs	CS%	CDA
2022	5.4	1.5	4.3	31%	12.3
2023	7.0	-0.5	4.5	35%	10.7
2025	-0.3	-0.2	-1.1	19%	-1.6

In Quero's defense, that framing number should be taken with a grain of salt in a small sample of 34 games, and many of the successful steal attempts against him occurred on poorly-located pitches that put him in a suboptimal throwing position. Even so, it was clear that his formerly 70-grade arm was much closer to good than elite after major surgery.

After he posted a subpar 29.7% hard-hit rate with an unremarkable 90th-percentile exit velocity of 102.8 mph, Quero's power surge in winter ball could be a sign that he's finally closing in on full strength after two trying years. His outlook in 2026 hinges heavily on his throwing and receiving trending toward their previous levels, along with improving his plate discipline to maximize his contact skills. While his walk rate was in line with the Triple-A average, his 36.8% chase rate ranked in the 11th percentile of hitters.

Quero could still benefit from more minor-league seasoning, but the Brewers could instead work on those swing decisions at the big-league level, especially if he's only playing in a part-time capacity. They may also be more patient with the flaws in his game, because they hold his intangibles in such high regard. Quero's demeanor in spring training impressed Pat Murphy, who dubbed him "maybe my favorite prospect that's ever been with the Brewers." He's also an excellent game caller, and he showed an impressive knack for reading swings and sequencing pitches while catching live at-bats during the team's five-day bye before the NLDS.

Those positive first impressions (coupled with a sparse free-agent catching market) could make the backup role Quero's to lose come spring training.

"Whether that's on Opening Day or a couple years from now, I'm very excited about his future," Arnold said.

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DiamondCentric's John Bonnes contributed reporting to this story.

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[biedergb]

I think he can definitely be the back up catcher. The bigger question is can he be a full time catcher in the bigs and take over for Contreras after next season (he has 2 more arby years right)?
And what is the best way to make that happen - spend time as a back up this year, or get more playing time in AAA.

I suspect the Brewers will find a Haase-type who can be AAA/MLB catcher to fill in wherever Quero is not.

AAA will need catchers - probably matt Wood is one, but maybe someone with better defensive prowess than Damien Miller.

[sveumrules]

Yeah, feels like a situation where a veteran stopgap will be brought in to start the season so Jeferson can get regular reps in AAA with a chance to see MLB later in the summer if his performance at Nashville warrants a promotion.

[Trail]

I don't know.  We've all followed him through the minors and through his injury.  We're all rooting for him.  However, there was nothing "special" about him in 2025.  Hopefully he gets closer to the guy he was before the injury, but I think he needs more time in triple A.  More at bats, more chances to figure out his defense. He cannot rely on an elite arm any more, so he'll need to compensate.  Sure...he could come up to the big club and be an OK backup, but that's not what the Brewers need....they need someone to step in for 2027 or 2028.  

[eddiemathews]

Yeah, I figure he's the guy. But if the Marlins don't protect Joe Mack I'd be sorely tempted to take him in the Rule 5 draft. Don't think there's much chance of that though. And I haven't ck'd today to see if he's been added to the 40 man.

[Trax]

I think a guy at his development stage needs to play near every day.  I hope they at least start him at Triple A and bring in a Haase type affordable vet who is competent enough.  Maybe Haase himself. 

[Brian]

40 minutes ago, Trax said:

I think a guy at his development stage needs to play near every day.  I hope they at least start him at Triple A and bring in a Haase type affordable vet who is competent enough.  Maybe Haase himself. 

I think Quero is better than Haase and better than Danny Jansen who was totally unimpressive this past season IMHO.  Quero also could DH, Quero's issues have always been injuries. Spring Training will tell us a lot more and is less than 100 days away. 

[long ball]

I’m ready to see him at the MLB level. Hes 23 and only has 1 minor league option heading into 2026 so you may as well see what you have in him. (Of note, I was surprised somewhat to see Dinges is only 1 year younger than Quero). I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to pull off a split majors/minors deal with a veteran catcher like they did with Haase a couple years back  

 

id like to see Quero catch 30-35% of games (Contreras caught 80% of games last season so this is admittedly a big change). By comparison, Contreras caught 60 mlb games as a 24 year old with Atlanta in 2022 before becoming our primary starter in 2023. Now I understand Contreras probably had a more advanced bat at that point than Quero does now, but it doesn’t seem to have had any lasting affects on his ability to develop defensively with the brewers. 
 

I think we are at the point where we should back off Yelich more than we did in 2025 with the hope he’s fresher down the stretch and in the playoffs. He’s also at the point where I don’t need him in the line up against lefties. Opening up more DH opportunities for Contreras. 
 

I really like Contreras, but if I’m blueprinting his future with the Brewers it’s going to end with a trade next off season and hopefully Quero is the next man up. 

[Trax]

19 minutes ago, long ball said:

I’m ready to see him at the MLB level. Hes 23 and only has 1 minor league option heading into 2026 so you may as well see what you have in him. (Of note, I was surprised somewhat to see Dinges is only 1 year younger than Quero). I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to pull off a split majors/minors deal with a veteran catcher like they did with Haase a couple years back  

 

id like to see Quero catch 30-35% of games (Contreras caught 80% of games last season so this is admittedly a big change). By comparison, Contreras caught 60 mlb games as a 24 year old with Atlanta in 2022 before becoming our primary starter in 2023. Now I understand Contreras probably had a more advanced bat at that point than Quero does now, but it doesn’t seem to have had any lasting affects on his ability to develop defensively with the brewers. 
 

I think we are at the point where we should back off Yelich more than we did in 2025 with the hope he’s fresher down the stretch and in the playoffs. He’s also at the point where I don’t need him in the line up against lefties. Opening up more DH opportunities for Contreras. 
 

I really like Contreras, but if I’m blueprinting his future with the Brewers it’s going to end with a trade next off season and hopefully Quero is the next man up. 

Makes sense.  I too think Contreras will be traded at that time.   The tough thing is convincing Contreras to play behind the plate less, he's a bulldog.  If Quero is up with us he needs to play a fair amount.  Pine isn't going to do him any good. 

[Snoebird]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

I think Quero is better than Haase and better than Danny Jansen who was totally unimpressive this past season IMHO.  Quero also could DH, Quero's issues have always been injuries. Spring Training will tell us a lot more and is less than 100 days away. 

The sticky situation is that teams typically don't allow their backup catchers to DH unless there is another player on the roster who could replace an injured starting catcher. I think Quero should become Nashville's everyday catcher -- Alfaro is gone -- until the Brewers gain confidence in his ability as a total player. They could promote Quero at the all-star break and reduce Bill's workload similar to what they did this year. 

[Brian]

28 minutes ago, Snoebird said:

The sticky situation is that teams typically don't allow their backup catchers to DH unless there is another player on the roster who could replace an injured starting catcher.

So you can't go from DH to catcher if Contreras gets hurt when Shohei can do what ever he pleases? 

[long ball]

50 minutes ago, Snoebird said:

The sticky situation is that teams typically don't allow their backup catchers to DH unless there is another player on the roster who could replace an injured starting catcher. I think Quero should become Nashville's everyday catcher -- Alfaro is gone -- until the Brewers gain confidence in his ability as a total player. They could promote Quero at the all-star break and reduce Bill's workload similar to what they did this year. 

 

That’s not really true. Teams may not use their catcher as a PH, but Contreras has been used as a DH a ton when he’s not the starting catcher. 
 

2023: 108 starts at C, 29 DH

2024: 119 starts at C, 35 DH

2025: 128 starts at C, 22 DH

 

 

[Jim Goulart]

Catcher discussion begins around the 32:00 minute mark, and the Quero arm comments are sobering.

 

[Brian]

I'm also surprised that Quero is so "Jacked!"  No way he is only 203 pounds. 

[SF70]

2 hours ago, Brian said:

I'm also surprised that Quero is so "Jacked!"  No way he is only 203 pounds. 

Yeah, seems to have been doing a lot of strength training since his surgery. Quero is back to his pre-injury self offensively and with his extra strength should be able to impact the baseball better than he ever has.

The arm strength is a work in progress, but he still has GG potential receiving skills, game-calling abilities and the intangibles that Murphy loved so much he called Quero his favorite Brewers prospect ever 2 ST’s ago.

Start him off in AAA until he forces his way to MKE.

[Devinep]

On 11/14/2025 at 8:34 AM, sveumrules said:

Yeah, feels like a situation where a veteran stopgap will be brought in to start the season so Jeferson can get regular reps in AAA with a chance to see MLB later in the summer if his performance at Nashville warrants a promotion.

With the added benefit of another year of control after a few weeks in the minors 

[Outlander]

With the injuries he has would like to see him play in AAA more and not good use of service time to rot on the bench. Get Haase again if necessary.

[Team Canada]

On 11/14/2025 at 11:44 AM, Brian said:

So you can't go from DH to catcher if Contreras gets hurt when Shohei can do what ever he pleases? 

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say. You certainly can go from DH to Catcher...you just lose the DH spot. At that point in the game it may not matter that much, you just make double switches like the old days.

Yes, Shohei is allowed to fill both the starting pitcher and DH role at the same time and not lose the DH side of it when he leaves the game. When you're the best player since Babe Ruth and a complete unicorn that excels at both pitching and hitting, you get to have an exception.

[Brian]

11 hours ago, Team Canada said:

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say. You certainly can go from DH to Catcher...you just lose the DH spot. At that point in the game it may not matter that much, you just make double switches like the old days.

Yes, Shohei is allowed to fill both the starting pitcher and DH role at the same time and not lose the DH side of it when he leaves the game. When you're the best player since Babe Ruth and a complete unicorn that excels at both pitching and hitting, you get to have an exception.

"Ohtani Rule," Messes me up which allows a pitcher to remain in the game as a designated hitter (DH) after he is done pitching.  But I thought Ohtani played 1st base also on a day he pitched? 

[Team Canada]

10 hours ago, Brian said:

"Ohtani Rule," Messes me up which allows a pitcher to remain in the game as a designated hitter (DH) after he is done pitching.  But I thought Ohtani played 1st base also on a day he pitched? 

I could well be wrong, but I don't know that he's ever played 1B. There was discussion about him having to play in the outfield if he pitched in relief but needed to stay in the game to hit.