Padres manager Craig Stammen said recently that Vasquez has an "inside track" to one of the spots in the rotation, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove are locked into the rotation, and Vasquez is likely to join them after making 28 appearances (26 starts) in 2025. While Vasquez finished with a 3.84 ERA over 133.2 regular-season innings, his 78:52 K:BB wasn't pretty. Some ERA regression is likely coming, but he did enough last season that he's expected to open in San Diego's rotation.