4.05 ERA in 33 starts. He pitched 217.2 innings, striking out 196 while only walking 61. Vázquez was later invited to play in the 2000 Japanese All-Star Series. By , Vázquez had become the ace of the Expos pitching staff thought of as a "bright young star and an All-Star for years to come." On April 2, he opened the season in Chicago, pitching 5.2 innings while striking out five, but he also allowed four earned runs and walked three against the Cubs. The Expos won a close game, 5–4. He pitched better in his next start, the home opener at Olympic Stadium, striking out nine without issuing any walks across seven shutout innings in a 10–0 rout of the New York Mets. Vázquez would finish the season with 16–11 with a 3.42 ERA in 32 starts. In 223.2 innings pitched, he recorded 208 strikeouts while only walking 44 batters. In , Vázquez pitched 230.1 innings, striking out 179 batters while walking 49. He posted a 10–13 record with a 3.91 ERA in 34 starts. Despite this, he lost his arbitration case following the season and was awarded $6 million rather than his requested $7.15 million. In , Vázquez set career-highs with 230.2 innings pitched and 241 strikeouts. In 32 starts, he was 13–12 with a 3.24 ERA. Regarded as one of the league's top pitchers, he signaled to then GM Omar Minaya that he might not resign with the Expos, a team then threatened with contraction. Later, when asked by The New York Times about his experience in Montreal that year, he said it was tough "being over there having no owner. If you needed somebody the last couple years when we were in the hunt, especially last year, we couldn't get a player we needed." The article went on to note that for financial reasons the Expos not only couldn't "obtain players from other teams who might have helped the Expos stay in the wild-card race, but the Expos also weren't allowed to call up players from the minor leagues." New York Yankees (2004) On December 4, 2003, the New York Yankees agreed to acquire Vázquez from the Expos in exchange for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate. He later agreed to a four-year, $45 million deal through the season on January 5, 2004. Entering the season, The Hardball Times predicted him as their "consensus pick for