The Brewers went through the 2025 season relying on just three catchers. William Contreras was second in MLB with 128 starts behind the plate. Eric Haase supported him in the first half of the season. Milwaukee found Danny Jansen deadline and removed Haase from the 40-man roster in a related move.
Haase opted for minor league free agency at the end of the season. Jansen returned to the open market when the Brewers declined a $12MM co-op option. He officially signed a two-year, $14.5MM deal with Texas last week. That leaves Milwaukee with just two catchers on the 40-man roster: Contreras and the 23-year-old. Jefferson Querohis contract was picked up during the 2023-24 offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Quero, a native of Venezuela, suffered a torn labrum while throwing his shoulder in one game of the ’24 Triple-A season. He had surgery and missed the entire year. Quero missed the first few months of the ’25 campaign with a hamstring strain. He did not return to Triple-A action until early June. The right-handed hitter turned in a league average of .255/.336/.412 batting line in 250 plate appearances all the way.
Currently, Quero stands as the favorite for the #2 hosting job by default. Contreras is the only catcher in the organization to have played an MLB game. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the Brewers have scoured the market for a veteran backup but aren’t closing the door on Quero possibly breaking camp in that role. Assistant director of baseball administration Brenton Del Chiaro told Hogg that the youngster is “very close” to being ready for the big leagues.
Quero has shown promising contact skills against Triple-A pitching, though he tends to widen the strike zone. His combination of bat control and moderate pop gives him a high offensive ceiling worthy of a #2 catcher. Quero’s calling card as a prospect was his defense, especially the arm that was a weapon before the lab injury. Baseball America’s scouting report notes that Quero’s pop times suffered in his first year back from surgery. That’s reflected in the 18.9% caught stealing percentage below the 34.6% mark he posted in Double-A in 2023.
The Brewers can option Quero to Triple-A for at least one more season. He will be a fourth-year option candidate again due to missed time in 2024. If they feel he could benefit from more minor league time to hone his technique (or want to see what his arm strength looks like another year removed from injury), they’ll need to add someone from outside the organization. It’s not a position they’ll devote a lot of resources to given Contreras’ durability, but he’s a player he likes Reese McGuire, Christian Vázquez or an old friend Luke Maile they can sign for slightly more than the league minimum. At the very least they will bring an experienced catcher to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
Quero isn’t the only person who will be looking to set up camp. The right hand Logan Henderson impressed in his first five MLB starts but suffered a season-ending elbow injury in August. Henderson was able to continue throwing bullpen sessions in the postseason and did not require surgery. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes that he is following a normal offseason strategy and will return to action on the mound in the next few weeks.
Henderson will enter camp fighting for a spot after the cycle. Freddy Peralta again Brandon Woodruff ranked in the top two, excluding the former trade. Quinn Priester locked in role #3. Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and it is possible Angel Zerpa it can be a combination of background functions. Zerpa will be in the bullpen if he doesn’t win a replacement role. Everyone from that team except Woodruff and Peralta has minor league options remaining, so the Brewers have more flexibility in moving pitchers up and down from Triple-A Nashville.
