Padres righty starter being coached by beloved pitcher to become 'Dominican Yu Darvish'

PEORIA, Ariz. — The San Diego Padres believe they have found a potential successor to Yu Darvish, and the mentor is doing the teaching himself. All spring, the 38-year-old Darvish has taken 27-year-old right-hander Randy Vásquez under his wing, intent on molding the Dominican into what manager Craig Stammen calls “the Dominican Yu Darvish.”

The lessons have been constant. Between bullpen sessions, film study and side sessions, Darvish has pushed Vásquez to expand a repertoire that already features a fastball that parks at 96-98 mph. The goal is to add the kind of shape-shifting secondary arsenal that made Darvish one of baseball’s most unpredictable arms.

“Yu Darvish is trying to teach Randy how to be the Dominican Yu Darvish,” Stammen told reporters, underscoring how deliberately the organization has paired the two this spring.

Vásquez’s Cactus League numbers—4.15 ERA over 13 innings in four outings—won’t jump off the page, but the Padres see progress where box-score scanners might not. The right-hander has flashed a refined cutter, a sharper curve and a splitter that disappears late, weapons he rarely featured during his 2025 campaign. That season, Vásquez logged a 3.84 ERA across 133.2 innings in 28 games, establishing himself as a viable big-league starter. San Diego now believes another leap is possible.

With Darvish openly weighing retirement, the timing is critical. The Padres’ rotation questions extend beyond the proven duo of Michael King and Nick Pivetta; an in-house arm that can provide above-average innings would solve a looming depth crunch. If Vásquez can absorb Darvish’s philosophies on sequencing, tunneling and in-game adjustments, San Diego could have a home-grown replacement rather than an expensive external fix.

“He’s still a ways away from reaching the heights that Darvish reached,” one club evaluator conceded, “but the foundation is here, and the mentorship is unmatched.”

Vásquez, for his part, has embraced the pupil role. He and Darvish have dissected opposing lineups together, with the veteran imploring the younger righty to “think like a scientist and pitch like an artist.” The phrase has become a clubhouse mantra, a reminder that raw velocity is only as good as the unpredictability that surrounds it.

Whether the transformation crystallizes on Opening Day or deep into summer, Padres fans have a compelling subplot to track. If the apprenticeship succeeds, San Diego won’t just have a pitcher—it will have its own Dominican Darvish, crafted by the master himself.

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