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Once the regular season begins, we the People of Baseball are free to commence idly speculating about the non-waiver trade deadline. In keeping with that inalienable right, you should know that Tuesday was not a good day for two starting pitchers who may be prominent figures leading up to said deadline. 

First, there’s Jose Quintana of the White Sox: After offseason blockbusters that sent Chris Sale and Adam Eaton to the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively, it’s widely anticipated that Quintana will be shipped off before the deadline passes. After all, he’s one of the most consistently excellent pitchers in baseball, and he’s signed to a contract that’s team-friendly in the extreme. Quintana was to start the Sox’s season opener on Monday against the Tigers, but that game got rained out. Instead, he opposed Justin Verlander on Tuesday. Let’s just say the 28-year-old lefty did not enjoy his finest outing ... 

5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 3 HR

As well, the Tigers worked Quintana for 93 pitches over those 5 1/3 frames. In terms of game score, Quintana’s Tuesday mark of 22 is his lowest since his start against, yes, the Tigers on April 19, 2015. It’s also the fourth-worst game score of Quintana’s career. It’s also just the fifth time in 152 career starts that Quintana has allowed three or more home runs. 

To be sure, a disaster start in the first game of the season isn’t going to drastically alter the market for Quintana’s services. However, it will ever so slightly nudge the Sox’s sense of urgency while also nudging up the trepidation of their potential trading partners. Of course, if, four days hence, Quintana goes out and pitches in vintage form, then all of that is erased. If the struggles cascade, though, then the market’s going to get trickier. It’s one start and it means little, but it may mean something. 

Elsewhere, there’s Junior Guerra of the Brewers: Guerra was a 31-year-old rookie last year, and a successful on at that. This year, at age 32, he was on an Opening Day MLB roster for the first time in his career. Not only that, but he also made the Opening Day start for Milwaukee as they hosted the Brewers. Guerra’s performance was a mixed bag, but the troubling news is that he was forced to exit that start after he strained a calf while running the bases. Then, on Tuesday, a likely timeline emerged ... 

For Guerra personally, that’s a blow. As mentioned, he’s a 32-year-old trying to establish himself at the highest level. For the Brewers, that’s a potential blow to their ongoing rebuild, as Guerra may have a been a deadline trade target if he’d continued to pitch well. After all, he may have some near-term value, but he’s likely too old to be a core contributor by the time the Brewers are ready to contend again. Now, though, he’ll have much less time to solidify his trade value before July 31. 

Trades, people. Never stop talking trades.