A potential sale of the San Diego Padres (first announced in November by team chairman John Seidler) took a significant step forward this past week. Sheel Seidler, the widow of the late team owner Peter Seidler, settled a lawsuit brought against two of her brothers-in-law, Bob and Matt Seidler. The suit alleged that the brothers had committed “breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud” in managing the trust that controls the franchise, accusing them of selling assets to themselves at below-market value and even exploring relocating the franchise outside Southern California.

While no specifics of the settlement have been made public, a report from The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Mike Vorkunov suggests that initial bids from prospective buyers are expected by the end of February. It appears there are at least three viable suitors who are expected to be in the mix:

Joe Lacob, who owns the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, is known to have an interest in purchasing the club. Lacob has previously made attempts to purchase the A’s, Angels, and Dodgers.

Reports from Sportico named Dan Friedkin, who owns the English Premier League’s Everton and Italy’s Serie A club AS Roma, and José E. Feliciano, whose private equity firm owns the EPL’s Chelsea franchise, as other potential suitors.

Forbes estimated the franchise’s value last spring at $1.95 billion. Per Lin and Vorkunov, however, the Seidler family is seeking closer to $3 billion in a potential sale.

The baseball world woke up to the surprising and unfortunate news on Saturday that Terrance Gore, a former outfielder and pinch-runner, had passed away. He was just 34.

Gore’s wife first posted news to social media that he had passed away unexpectedly. Specifics were not shared, but it seems Gore died from complications suffered during what was supposed to be a routine surgery on Friday.

Never a consistent hitter at the plate, the bulk of Gore’s playing time came as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. He appeared in 112 games over parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, but saw just 85 plate appearances (hitting .216/.310/.270). He was 43-for-52 overall in stolen base attempts.

He was a part of three World Series-winning clubs in the 2015 Royals, 2020 Dodgers, and 2021 Braves.

As MLB.com’s Benjamin Hill originally wrote in 2018, there have been six players in history who have both played in a Super Bowl and in minor league baseball:

Tom Brown appeared in 61 games for the Washington Senators in 1963, batting just .147/.227/.207 in 128 PA while playing first base and the outfield. The Senators sent him to the minors, where he’d hit .223/.352/.330 over the remainder of the season and part of 1964 before he’d turn to football, winning SB I and SB II as part of the Green Bay Packers.

John Elway spent a single season in the minor leagues as an outfielder in the Yankees’ system, batting .318/.432/.464, before focusing on football when he became the first-overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Elway appeared in football’s biggest game five times (SB XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXXII, and XXXIII), winning the final two.

John Lynch made just nine appearances in the minors between the 1992 and 1993 seasons, posting a 2.35 ERA in 38.1 IP. The right-hander actually threw the first pitch for the Florida Marlins’ organization (starting on Opening Day at Class-A) before winning SB XXXVII as part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Russell Wilson got into 93 games at second base in the low minors between the 2010 and 2011 seasons in the Rockies’ minor league system, batting .229/.354/.356 in 379 PA, before winning SB XLVIII and losing SB XLIX as the Seahawks’ quarterback.

Deion Sanders, one of the rare actual two-sport athletes, spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues with four teams, hitting .263/.319/.392 (89 OPS+) in more than 600 games. He was part of back-to-back wins in SB XXIX and XXX with the 49ers and Cowboys.

Shaq Thompson’s lone season in minor league baseball was forgettable, going 3-for-39 with 37 SO in 13 games in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. The Carolina Panthers' linebacker lost SB 50.

It was a tough week in the media industry. The Washington Post carried out rumored layoffs, eliminating the entire sports department and several other desks at the once-famed newspaper. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cut its newsroom by half (nearly 50 jobs). Then word broke that MLB.com had “undergone restructuring” and would be losing people.

It’s still unclear how deep MLB.com’s cuts are. We know that John Denton and Alex Stumpf, who covered the Cardinals and Pirates, respectively, were laid off. Both posted the news to their social media accounts. It’s unclear who else was affected or how the outlet plans to cover these beats.

Buck Martinez, the legendary voice of the Blue Jays’ broadcasts, announced his retirement on Friday.

Martinez spent 17 seasons in the big leagues as a light-hitting, second-string catcher who was known more for his defense than his bat. Just once in that span did Martinez appear in more than 100 games in a single season (1983). He’d finish his career with a .225/.284/.343 (73 OPS+) slash line in just over 3,000 PA.

Martinez spent the final six seasons of his career with the Blue Jays after coming over in a spring 1981 trade from the Brewers. Toronto quickly offered him a chance to step into the broadcast booth upon the end of his playing career, where he’s been a mainstay ever since (outside of managing the team from the dugout during 2001 and part of 2002, and then a two-month absence in 2022 after being diagnosed with cancer). Martinez’s broadcast career has spanned nearly 40 years and includes more than 4,000 games.

Dickie Thon spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with six clubs, including seven with the Houston Astros from 1981 to 1987. The infielder hit .264/.317/.374 (95 OPS+) and was an All-Star in 1983. The 67-year-old is recovering at home in Puerto Rico after donating a kidney to his 34-year-old son in December. Dickie Joe Thon, who was first diagnosed with kidney disease in a post-draft physical in 2010, hit .243/.318/.356 over seven years in the minors, briefly reaching Double-A.

Yasiel Puig has been found guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal officials stemming from an investigation into illegal bets the former outfielder placed in 2019. Puig could be facing up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in May, according to reports.

Mark McGwire and the Athletics have finally reunited, with the former slugger returning to the organization to serve as a special assistant to player development.

We’ll close today’s TBNL out with a pair of Supreme Cheeto-related items. First, the Cheeto has endorsed former Rangers/Braves/Angels/Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is running for Congress in Texas’s 21st district. Naturally, the hope is that Teixeira loses at this point.

Elsewhere, the Dodgers are expected to accept an invitation to visit the White House despite vocal calls from the team’s fan base to skip the annual tradition. No date for the visit has been set.