Photo via William Contreras - Instagram
William Contreras - Brewers
William Contreras with the Milwaukee Brewers
While the Brewers spent the weekend trying to get back into the National League playoff race, a storyline with ramifications for their long-term plans took a significant step forward in Nashville.
When the Brewers have been going well this season it’s often revolved around All Star catcher and two-time MVP vote recipient William Contreras, who has earned a reputation as one of the game’s best backstops. Contreras is one of just a few players in the sport to combine middle of the order caliber offensive production with solid defense behind the plate and this season no one in baseball has caught more games than he has.
At the top level of the minors, however, the Brewers also have one of the game’s top catching prospects. Jeferson Quero is 22 years old and was making a rapid climb to the big leagues, reaching the AAA level after just 208 regular season games in the minors, when disaster struck in his debut at that level. He suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder while running the bases in the first game of the 2024 season and missed the entire year. A hamstring injury suffered during his rehab further delayed his return. Even with over a year on the shelf, however, Quero is still rated as one of the game’s elite young talents. MLB Pipeline has Quero as the #38 prospect in all of baseball and the #5 catcher.
Quero on the Comeback
Meanwhile, Quero has been on the way back. He spent much of the month of May on a rehab assignment with the Brewers’ Arizona Complex League team and performed as one might expect from an elite prospect playing against some of the game’s youngest minor leaguers: He batted .371 with a .500 on-base percentage and .886 slugging in 11 games in the desert with five home runs, including one in each of his last three games there. On Tuesday the Brewers activated him off the injured list in Nashville and he played in four games during the Sounds’ series with Gwinnett, reaching base safely in each contest.
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The Brewers watch all of their prospects’ progress with great interest, of course, but Quero’s performance this season might have more significant ramifications than most. As noted previously he’s still only 22 years old (almost five years younger than the average AAA player) and has played in just a handful of games at the AAA level, but he’s on the cusp of the big leagues. If he establishes that he’s healthy and able to perform at that level, then he’s going to leave the Brewers with a challenging decision to make.
When the Brewers acquired William Contreras following the 2022 season he looked like an offense-first catcher destined to eventually move to a less demanding position, not unlike the path his brother Willson has followed with the Cardinals. The younger Contreras has evolved into a solid contributor behind the plate, however, and now generates a significant amount of value with his play there. As noted above, he also plays there more often than most. A move off the catcher position might allow him to stay healthier (he’s already playing through a broken finger), but it also might impact his value. Contreras also has a significant financial incentive to stay behind the plate: He’s scheduled to become a free agent following the 2027 season and would be significantly more valuable if he reaches the market as one of the game’s top catchers.
Behind the Plate
Quero, however, has been exclusively a catcher throughout his minor league career. Before this season’s rehab assignment, he had never even appeared in a game as a designated hitter, much less another defensive position. And, perhaps even more so than Contreras, he generates a lot of value with his work behind the plate: He was a minor league Gold Glove Award winner in 2023, a season where he threw out the second-highest percentage of would-be base stealers of any full time catcher in the minors.
The Brewers’ recent roster situation makes it increasingly difficult for them to find playing time at the MLB level for two catchers. Christian Yelich has been their designated hitter for 57 of his 63 games this season, which doesn’t leave much room for the Brewers to play one backstop in the field and keep the other in the lineup. Neither Contreras nor Quero have played a professional game at first base, another frequent option for a relocated catcher. And with Quero already at the AAA level and Contreras still under team control with the Brewers for this season and two more, this also probably isn’t a question the Brewers can simply wait out.
As always, having too many talented players might be the best problem an MLB team can have. If Jeferson Quero is fully recovered and ready to resume his role as one of Minor League Baseball’s top catchers, however, then it might create a challenge for the Brewers to balance playing time for two young stars at the same position.
