What Does Recent History Tell Us About Jeferson Quero's Shoulder Injury—and When Will He Reach MLB?

He is still in line to take some of the catching duties from William Contreras, but does this injury delay that at all? After working back from a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, when can Brewers fans expect to see Jeferson Quero make his MLB debut?

Quero is no stranger to working his way back from a torn labrum. In 2021, he required surgery to his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum. He was able to work his way back from that setback very successfully, seemingly, not missing a step in his development; he was just 21 last year when he started in Nashville. Before getting to Nashville, he cruised through Low-A and High-A the season after his surgery, even playing in the Arizona Fall League in the offseason. Then, at Double-A Biloxi, he played a full season and took home a Minor League Gold Glove. Starting 2024 in Nashville, he was set to be 5.3 years younger than the average age in Triple-A.

Even after losing an entire season to injury, Quero will be on track to be a young big-leaguer when he eventually gets the call-up—but how quickly could we expect to see the Brewers best catching prospect in Milwaukee? Using other hitters who have come back from labrum surgery and shoulder subluxation could be helpful to set expectations for Quero and his 2025 season.

One thing that is mentioned by many when coming back from labrum surgery is getting back to a complete range of motion. In terms of hitting, looking at whiff percentage to see if it affects the hitter's ability to hit pitches in all areas of the zone will be helpful. Looking at exit velocities and barrel percentage could give a deeper understanding of how well the strength and control in the shoulder returns to prior capabilities.

Garrett Mitchell has also recently worked back from a torn labrum. Mitchell’s torn labrum, however, was not in his throwing shoulder. Throughout his career, he has been fairly injury-prone, but he has contributed on both sides of the ball while healthy. That trend continued after his return from labrum surgery. Mitchell injured his shoulder in the 2023 season and came back in 2024, playing 69 games in a season where he faced more injury problems but was able to tally 2.0 WAR.

He's a good player to compare Quero’s return to, as Mitchell is also a younger player. Mitchell was 25 in the 2024 season and was called up in 2022. He showed no signs of drops in exit velocities or whiff percentages. While he is not elite in either of those categories, it is important to see he was able to return to previous levels. One thing to keep an eye on going into next season for Mitchell would be his launch angle, which dropped concerningly last season. However, Mitchell has been a very inconsistent hitter in his first couple years in MLB and only has a total of 322 at-bats there, so he may still be establishing his “normal”. On defense, Mitchell didn't seem to miss a step, either.

Logan O’Hoppe is another catcher who has torn his labrum recently. Again, though, his tear happened to his left shoulder. He tore it in late April 2023, and he was able to return for about 35 games at the end of the season. Curiously, O’Hoppe was able to return in the same season as his injury, whereas Quero was out for the year. Obviously, there are fewer games in the minor-league season, but there did not seem to be any reports that Quero was close to returning.

The difference, and the major quirk here, is that this happened to Quero's right arm. Surely, working a throwing shoulder back to a game-ready level will take longer than a non-throwing shoulder. The Brewers taking their time, making sure Quero is fully healthy before he returns to game action, is the correct path, especially with such a young and talented prospect. When O’Hoppe returned from his injury, there was no notable dropoff in exit velocities or strikeout percentage. Barrel percentage was up in the small sample of those 35 games after he came back, and his launch angle was right on par with what he had done prior to the injury. Comparing Quero to O’Hoppe is not an apples-to-apples comparison, but O’Hoppe is also a well-rounded catcher who is young. 

Another player who has suffered shoulder subluxation, multiple times, is former Brewer Brian Anderson. He missed time twice in 2021 with the Marlins with a left shoulder subluxation. First, in May, Anderson landed on the 60-day injured list. Then, in September, he opted for surgery that would end his season. He never fully healed from the first subluxation and aggravated the injury diving for a ball in the infield. In the time between his first IL stint and his season-ending surgery, he had his worst barrel percentage since his early years in MLB, and that rate would pop back up the next year and stay at a higher rate the following years. Anderson’s exit velocities were comparable, as was his whiff rate, but that barrel percentage from late May to early September was 5.5%, while for the 2020 and 2022 seasons it was up around 9.5%. He continued to play some solid defense, but he was clearly struggling to square the ball up with any consistency.

Quero has recovered from labrum surgery before, so he knows the kind of work that goes into it. By all accounts, he is a mature young player who will be able to keep his eyes on the prize while rehabbing. Looking for comparisons for Quero’s injury really is tough, though, because position players do not tear their labrum in their throwing shoulder all that often.

Thinking about how the injury occurs most often, sliding or diving with an arm extended, that either happens in the field (where players would not extend their throwing arm to try to make a diving catch), or sliding into a base (where, when advancing a base, players slide to the outside corner of the bag, extending their left arm for the corner of the base). Quero’s injury occurred sliding back into first where he extended his right arm to get to the far corner of the base.

Pitchers do sometimes require labrum surgery on their throwing arm, but Quero is obviously not a pitcher, so it's not quite comparable. Using a wait-and-see approach for Quero defensively may be the way to go, especially because he had such a good arm before the injury. Ensuring he has time to work his arm back to its best (even if its best is less than it was before) will help keep him on the field when he gets called up to the big leagues.

The Brewers will most likely be relatively cautious with Quero this year, even if one of their catchers gets injured early in the year. Quero has, so far, only had one at-bat higher than the Double-A level, and because throwing is important at his defensive position, they will want time to evaluate the viability of his recovered shoulder. With the recent signing of Jorge Alfaro to a minor-league deal, the Brewers put themselves in a position where, even if there is an injury, they would not need to rush Quero to Milwaukee. Making sure Quero is able to be a great defender again before bringing him to Milwaukee will be a nice luxury for the Brewers to have.

Let us know in the comments when you think we will see Jeferson Quero in Milwaukee.