Milwaukee Brewers 2025 Position Analysis: Catcher

For several years, now, the Milwaukee Brewers have been the envy of the league when it comes to acquiring and developing catchers. This year, they have very good depth behind their MVP candidate and starter. In fact, not only do they have a solid set of guys at the big-league level, but there’s a top prospect knocking loudly on the door.

Leading the charge is William Contreras. After two full years as the Brewers’ starting catcher, it’s clear that he’s one of the best at what he does. He has won a Silver Slugger Award and was a down-ballot MVP candidate in both seasons. Most recently, he posted a 129 OPS+ with 23 home runs and 37 doubles.

He's been known to swing a mean bat since he debuted with the team from suburban Cobb County, Ga., but the biggest step forward has been in his defense. With his old club, he accumulated -11 Defensive Runs Saved, primarily dragged down by poor framing numbers. Since arriving in Milwaukee, he has accumulated 11 Defensive Runs Saved, a shift driven by improving that aforementioned weakness. While his framing regressed from 2023 to 2024, his overall DRS increased slightly, thanks to his apparent knack for helping his pitchers perform better through game-calling and situation management.

Contreras is known to be a workhorse, putting together 679 plate appearances and playing in 155 games in 2024, but he isn't always sitting behind the plate. Because of his effectiveness as a hitter, he has been able to get a decent amount of work as a designated hitter. While Gary Sánchez was the go-to backup last year, it seems that Eric Haase will replace him for 2025.

Haase only had 69 plate appearances with the Brewers last year, but was effective over that span, posting a 122 OPS+. He also had an .870 OPS over 170 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville. With the big strides he has made since joining Milwaukee’s system, he’s projected to get significantly more work in 2025. It hasn’t been the most productive spring training for him thus far, but there’s still time to warm up and get adjusted ahead of the regular season.

Also gunning for the backup spot is Jorge Alfaro, who was released in March 2024 by the Cubs and who spent the whole of that season in Mexico, mostly DHing and not playing much. He signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers in January and has been great in spring training, slashing .304/.429/.565 over 28 plate appearances. We haven’t seen Alfaro play affiliated ball since his brief major-league stint in 2023, and that lasted just 18 games, so it seems likely he’ll spend more time in the minor leagues if he’s kept around. That said, there's still a clear opportunity for him to get called up and be a big-league contributor.

While these three names are currently listed on the Brewers’ depth chart, another player who has a good shot to make a splash for the Brewers is Jeferson Quero, one of the club's top prospects and a nationally touted one. He missed all of last season after suffering an unfortunate injury that caused a torn labrum in his first game, but his pedigree remains mostly unchanged. Scouts remain excited about his defensive skillset, as well as his ability to stop the running game. In addition to being great behind the plate, his swing isn’t too shabby either although it’s not quite on par. His offensive production could be a development focus next season as the team ramps him back up to catching slowly to fully recover his shoulder, giving him more reps at DH instead. Pat Murphy raves about Quero.

Projections are far from perfect, but they can serve as a baseline. If FanGraphs is to be believed, Milwaukee is looking to be in pretty good shape. They are currently projected to get 4.6 fWAR out of their catching position, fifth in MLB. That would trail only the Mariners, Giants, Orioles, and Blue Jays. With an elite leader of the pack and three solid backup options, fans shouldn’t have much to worry about heading into this year.