The Brewers appear to need a number two catcher as spring training is mere weeks away, which is surprising as Top 100 prospect Jeferson Quero is on the 40-man roster, even as he’s recovered from an injury that cost him all of 2024.

Talk about signing a veteran centered on the chance the Brewers could reunite with Victor Caratini, whose bat has improved since his first stint in Milwaukee. There was speculation from Sports Illustrated that Milwaukee was a dark horse to pick up free agent J.T. Realmuto.

Neither of those happened. Per the FanGraphs free-agent tracker, Caratini signed a two-year $14 million deal with the Twins, while Realmuto worked out a three-year deal to stay in Philadelphia.

The best free-agent catcher left on the market is Christian Vazquez, who posted a 52 OPS+ for the Twins in 2025. FanGraphs estimates that he could get a one-year deal worth $5 million. Thanks to the latest drama about the Brewers’ broadcast deal, Milwaukee may not be able to afford $5 million for a backup catcher.

In a sense, though, things may work out well for the Brewer, simply because those two moves give a returning non-roster invitee the chance to shine. Darrien Miller came to big-league camp in 2025, which was intriguing given that the Crew had Quero on the 40-man roster, even though his power had declined in 2024 from his 2023 season.

Miller returns to the big-league camp in 2026 after a 2025 that saw him fail to reach the Uecker line in terms of batting average while playing at Double-A Biloxi. That said, during that season, he regained a power stroke, hitting seven home runs and driving in 37 in 66 fewer at-bats than in 2024, while his OBP skills remained elite (57 walks and getting plunked 17 times).

Is Miller the answer the Brewers are seeking as their backup backstop? At first glance, people might think that it isn’t a good idea. Over the last two seasons, he’s slashed a .203/.387/.308 line in Double-A Biloxi, a .695 OPS. These numbers are not horrific in one of the most pitching-friendly leagues in professional baseball. How pitching-friendly is the Southern League? Cooper Pratt posted a .691 OPS in 2025.

Despite those seemingly uninspiring numbers over two years, the Brewers re-signed him after he reached minor-league free agency. Teams don’t usually bring back minor-league free agents and invite them to spring training in back-to-back seasons if they think the player is a dud. So, the team obviously sees something in Miller worth keeping him around.

As it turns out, Miller could be very valuable to Milwaukee for the next five to six years, given his lengthy tenure with the organization. Since he was drafted in 2019, he’s worked with a lot of young pitchers in that organization, some of whom reached Milwaukee (Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, and Craig Yoho), others who could be in Milwaukee soon (Coleman Crow, Tate Kuehner, and Mark Manfredi jump to mind). In other words, this is right around the timeframe where these pitchers are under team control.

This sort of working relationship and mutual familiarity among batterymates can’t be picked up via sabermetrics, but it does have an effect. The Brewers have long valued team chemistry – witness the haste with which they traded the disgruntled Aaron Civale and their desire to avoid arbitration hearings (which soured relationships with Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes).

But Miller also has some offensive skills the Brewers value. He’s been exceptional at drawing walks over his professional career (271 in 1,515 professional at-bats in minor-league baseball and winter ball in Australia). He also could compete with Caleb Durbin in terms of being willing to get plunked for the team (he’s been hit by pitches 102 times over his career), meaning almost a quarter of his at-bats end with him on base without needing a hit.

Miller brings some other advantages for the Brewers: He would be cost-controlled through 2028 at the very least (possibly longer if he and Quero swap places between Milwaukee and Nashville in what could very likely be William Contreras’ final season in Milwaukee, barring a miracle).

He also bats left-handed, which would complement the largely right-handed catchers currently on the 40-man roster. Miller is also only 25 and would be nearing his physical peak years.

Milwaukee’s search for a backup catcher in 2026 – and beyond – may be over, with the solution right before their eyes.