Pitcher Kyle Lohse and the St. Louis Cardinals are close to an agreement that will keep the right-hander with the team. The team has scheduled a news conference for Monday afternoon at Busch Stadiumwhen where they are expected to announce a new contract with Lohse. The deal is rumored to be for four years and worth at least $40 million. "We're close," Lohse said Sunday after being scratched from a scheduled start. "That played into part of why I didn't go out there today. I would have liked to pitch on the last day, but there's other things going on. That's kind of where we're at." Lohse was 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 33 starts this season.