With the news Monday that the Phillies reached a two-year agreement with pitcher Jamie Moyer, and the signing late last week of Raul Ibanez, resolving the question of who will replace Pat Burrell in leftfield, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. should now focus on sowing up the rotation and signing a fifth starter.

I know that sounds a bit aggressive, especially for the usually play it safe Phillies, but if they can sign someone like Derek Lowe or Ben Sheets, it will give them arguably the best rotation in the National League. Picture this: Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Lowe/Sheets, Moyer and Joe Blanton.

Adding a fifth starter would ensure that Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, and Carlos Carrasco will be able to spend more time developing in the minor leagues. It would also ensure that Adam Eaton has no shot at starting for the Phillies, and would make it very unlikely that newly acquired Chan Ho Park gets a shot at the starting rotation either. As much as I like the idea of Park as a veteran long-reliever, the thought of him as a starter at this point in his career makes me nervous.

Lowe has a career ERA of 3.75 to go along with a record of 126-107 in 255 starts. Last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lowe was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings. Sheets is 86-83 over his eight year career, but has a career ERA of just 3.72. Last season he went 13-9 with a 3.02 ERA.

Lowe would be the more logical fit for a place like the hitter friendly Citizens Bank Park, as he is a predominantly sinkerball pitcher who induces a lot of groundouts. Sheets could get burned more with the homerun, but is more of a power pitcher and can get guys out on the strikeout.

One darkhorse candidate is Jake Peavy, whom the Padres were seriously shopping to the Cubs during last week’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. The Phillies were in the middle of those negotiations as Chicago did not have the prospects needed to get the job done, but San Diego’s GM Kevin Towers had expressed some serious interest in Happ, as well as backup catcher Chris Coste. The big issue is that Peavy has a no-trade clause in his contract, but it’s a reasonable assumption that he could be persuaded to come play for the reigning World Champions in the right situation. If the Phillies could package Happ and Coste with one other player, perhaps secondbaseman Jason Donald, then I think he is obvious target. Just imagine this rotation: Hamels (3.09 career ERA), Peavy (3.25), Myers (4.37), Moyer (4.19), and Blanton (4.24).

Add that rotation to the best bullpen in the National League last year, including the perfect Brad Lidge, and a starting lineup that boasts Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez, and the Phillies would clearly be the team to beat for the third season in a row.