Business goes on as usual in baseball, even amid all the Mitchell Report revelations. There have been a ton of big signings and trades the last couple of days, some involving players named in the steroid investigation. Here's a little run-down:

Cubs Sign Fukudome

The Chicago Cubs gave Japanese star Kosuke Fukudome a 4-year/$48 million deal. Cubs GM Jim Hendry admitted that Fukudome was the centerpiece of the team's off-season plan, just as Rafael Furcal was a couple of years ago - the difference being that the Cubs actually landed Fukudome. There are question marks about Fukudome, the main one being his elbow, which was operated on a couple of months ago. But his talent is undeniable, and if he pans out, he will give the Cubs a badly-needed infusion of plate discipline and fielding skill.

Peavy Passes On Free-Agency

Jake Peavy could've become a free-agent after the 2009 season and made a boat-load, but he opted to sign an early extension with the San Diego Padres instead, inking a 3-year/$52 million deal. Yes, that's probably less than he would've gotten had he become a free-agent (barring injury or unforeseen drop off in performance), but it's still the most money the Padres have ever given out to a player. Peavy of course won the N.L. Cy Young award this year, going 19-6 with a brilliant 2.54 ERA - a much better season than Barry Zito or Carlos Zambrano, both of whom signed larger contracts than Peavy in the past year.

Tejada Gone

2002 A.L. MVP Miguel Tejada signed a 6-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles after the 2003 season, and was supposed to be the centerpiece of that franchise's plan for getting back to prominence. I think it's safe to say it didn't work out. The Orioles made the playoffs a grand total of zero times in Tejada's tenure, and during those four years, the shortstop found himself becoming the subject of more controversy than he was worth. The Orioles decided this off-season to end their relationship with Tejada, trading him to the Houston Astros for a package of young players.

Trading Tejada spared the Orioles having to deal with even more controversy, as today the shortstop was named in the Mitchell Report. Think Baltimore might've been given an early heads-up on Tejada's name being in that report?

Rowand To Giants

The San Francisco Giants will go into next season without Barry Bonds and all the circus-like atmosphere surrounding him. Yesterday they helped replenish their Bonds-less outfield by signing rugged former Phillies and White Sox centerfielder Aaron Rowand to a 5-year/$60 million contract.

Rowand isn't going to replace Bonds's giant, steroid-aided bat in the line-up, but there are a few things he does much better than Barry...like play defense (if you play defense at all, you play it better than Barry), run the bases, interact with other human beings and not ruin clubhouse chemistry by needing his own set of rules (including the right to have any shady people he wants hang out with him in the locker room).