A's center fielder Mark Kotsay told MLB.com on Wednesday that he will undergo back surgery Thursday that he said is expected to keep him out of action for eight to 12 weeks. Kotsay said by telephone from California, where he has been since last Friday undergoing tests, that the procedure in Los Angeles will repair a herniated disc between the L3 and L4 (lumbar vertebrae). "It actually feels good, as weird as that sounds, because now we have a plan," Kotsay said. "We've been trying to do so many things just to keep me on the field, but obviously it wasn't working out. Now we have something that I know I'm going to do this, and two years from now I won't look back and wonder, 'What if I had the surgery done?'"