Brewers Facing William Contreras Decision After Roster Move

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Charlie O'Keefe | Last updated Mar 28, 2026 2:37 PM ET

Just a couple of days into the regular season, the Brewers are already down a player; first baseman Andrew Vaughn has a hand injury and will have to miss some time. But in an exciting development, the Brewers are using the injury as an opportunity to call up top catching prospect Jeferson Quero.

Of course, the Brewers already have one of the best catchers in baseball, William Contreras. And with Contreras being fully healthy, the Brewers now must determine how to best give their top catching prospect playing time while without cutting into Contreras' value.

The 23-year-old Quero projects fairly well at the plate, but the majority of his promise comes in the form of his excellent defense behind the plate, where he will soon make his debut after being called up on Saturday (h/t Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

The Brewers are calling up Jeferson Quero, sources confirm. The top catching prospect will be making his MLB debut. @DanielAlvarezEE with the initial report.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) March 28, 2026

Signing with the Brewers as a 17-year-old from Venezuela, Quero quickly impressed behind the plate and started appearing on top prospects lists. He has appeared in the Brewers top thirty prospect list every year since 2020 (h/t MLB Pipeline), and ranked as high as the #35 prospect in the entire league in 2024.

Quero slugged 16 home runs, batted .262, and posted a .779 OPS across 381 plate appearances in his 2023 Double-A debut. But the right-handed hitter missed almost all of 2024 and a few months of 2025 after suffering a torn right labrum in his shoulder, with his slow recovery exacerbated by nagging hamstring issues.

As a result, his prospect stock dropped a bit going into 2026. But Quero's blocking and framing abilities are still so highly regarded that making the major leagues was nearly inevitable, and now that day has come.

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24)© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Still, the Contreras question remains. From 2023-2025, Contreras ranks second among all catchers in fWAR, trailing only Cal Raleigh (h/t Fangraphs). And in over 600 major league games played, Contreras has appeared at positions other than catcher or DH just three times: twice in left field, and once at first base.

MLB.com writer Adam McCalvy speculated that Quero's call-up could allow the Brewers to play backup catcher Gary Sanchez at the now-open first base as the team would be carrying three catchers.

But with Contreras likely hitting free agency after the 2027 season and Quero being their potential catcher of the future, it would be surprising if the Brewers called Quero up only to have him sit on the bench. While Contreras is still going to receive the majority of the playing time behind the plate, if Quero performs well the Brewers must decide if they want to occasionally play Contreras at first base or left field to make room for Quero.

With Yelich firmly planted in the DH spot, the only way Quero and Contreras will ever be in the same lineup is if one of them takes up first base or left field. Whether the Brewers have any interest in exploring that remains to be seen.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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