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The Phillies have acquired minor league backstop Blake Forsythe from the Athletics in a trade announced on Wednesday . Oakland received cash considerations in the deal. Forsythe, 25, was originally a 3rd round draft selection of the Mets in 2010. The righty batting Tennessee product was batting .267 through five games with Triple-A Nashville this season. In 391 career games, Forsythe, who has played five games at first base and five in the outfield as a pro, sports a .226/.314/.377 slash line. He'll reportedly be assigned to Double-A Reading. The deal was necessary following an injury to Lehigh Valley catcher Tommy Joseph this week. In a corresponding move, the Phillies announced the release of righty reliever Mike Nesseth . The 27-year-old had a 0-2 record with a 5.02 ERA in eight appearances with Reading this season. Nesseth was a 17th round draft selection in 2010. This piece originally appeared on PhilliesNation.com .

Monday was a busy day for roster moves in the Phillies' organization. On top of the news that Mike Adams would return to the Phillies at the expense of Luis Garcia being sent down to Triple-A, there were several notable transactions announced throughout the system. Cameron Rupp, Image- Jay Floyd Top catching prospect Cameron Rupp was placed on the disabled list with a strained oblique suffered in Sunday's game. The 25-year-old was batting .231 with four homers and eight RBI in nine games with the Triple-A IronPigs. Sebastian Valle was promoted to Lehigh Valley from Double-A Reading to fill the void. Other backstop moves: Chad Carman promoted to the Reading roster from Class A Advanced Clearwater, Deivi Grullon activated for Clearwater from extended spring training. Also placed on the disabled list with an oblique strain for Lehigh Valley was infielder Andres Blanco . The 30-year-old infielder was batting .273 with one RBI in nine contests in the young season...

Mike Nesseth, Image- Jay Floyd During the 2013 season, righty reliever Mike Nesseth proved himself to be a mover within the Phillies' developmental ranks.  After a rough start to his season with Class A Advanced Clearwater, Nesseth was promoted to Double-A Reading where he was dominant and earned himself another promotion before season's end.  With the progress he's shown, the Minnesota native is a prospect to know in the Phils system as the new season approaches. Nesseth was the Phillies' 17th round selection in 2010 while already recovering from Tommy John surgery. Undergoing the procedure approximately six weeks before the amateur draft, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate's spot fell quite a bit from where he would have been taken if he was healthy. It was late June 2011 before Nesseth made his official pro debut.  As a member of the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters, the youngster sported a 3-6 record with a 3.21 ERA in 14 star...

The premiere edition of our 2013 off-season league updates is here.  Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly run down of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for loads of details on some familiar names, prospects and more. Arizona Fall League (seven Phils prospects play together on the Peoria Javelinas)... Mike Nesseth RHP Mike Nesseth - The Phils' 17th round draft choice from 2010 has allowed four earned runs in four innings while striking out two and walking one thus far with Peoria.  Nesseth sported a 1-5 record with a 2.50 ERA and nine saves in 48 regular season games at three levels during the regular season this year. To hear Nesseth talking about the Arizona Fall League, check out my exclusive interview with him by clicking HERE . OF Aaron Altherr - In three games, the 22-year-old is 3-for-11 (.273 avg) with two RBI and has been unsuccessful in one stolen base attempt....

On this week's edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast Tug and Jay are joined by Phillies pitching prospect Mike Nesseth who discusses the Arizona Fall League, the Phillies' focus on throwing strikes and a proposed street fight between Cameron Rupp 's goatee and Kyle Simon 's mustache.  The guys also chat about the MLB postseason, Yasiel Puig , off-season leagues and plenty more. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

Dave Brundage, Image- Jay Floyd Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Dave Brundage returned the Phillies' organization this season after a 26-year absence.  Previously, Brundage managed the Braves' Triple-A affiliate for the last six seasons.  Prior to his time in the Atlanta system, the 48-year-old spent 19 season in the Mariners organization as a player, coach and manager.  The Georgia resident was originally drafted as a fourth round pick in 1986 and played at three levels with the Phillies, reaching as high as Double-A Reading before he was traded to Seattle. The IronPigs hung close in the International League wild card standings through the latter portion of the season, but a loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday officially eliminated them from the postseason hunt. This weekend, I spoke with Brundage about several of his players, including Adam Morgan , Tyson Gillies as well as Cameron Rupp and he also chatted about September call-ups among other ...

Dave Lundquist and Jesse Biddle, Image- Jay Floyd Over the weekend, I spoke with Double-A Reading Fightin Phillies pitching coach Dave Lundquist. A former big leaguer with the White Sox and Padres, "Lundy" has been coaching in the Phils system since 2008. The 40-year-old spoke openly about nearly his entire pitching staff including top prospect Jesse Biddle , David Buchanan , Mike Nesseth , Seth Rosin , Austin Wright as well as Brody Colvin . Read ahead for that full interview... - Jesse Biddle came out in Trenton over the weekend and had somewhat of a bounce back effort, following a pair of poor outings. He says it's not a good result unless he wins, but overall it's gotta be a positive step for him, right? Absolutely. If you look at his last two outings, two-thirds of an inning and then an inning and a third, to come out (on Friday) night and really to have the command, much, much better than he's had. The confidence level was much highe...

It's summer and in this scorching July weather, we're focusing solely on the players who've been hot lately in this round of Phillies minor league notes. Triple-A Lehigh Valley- Newly minted center fielder and All-Star second baseman Cesar Hernandez is batting .338 along with four doubles, a triple and seven RBI in 17 July games.  The 23-year-old switch hitter appeared in nine games with the big league Phils earlier this season, going 7-for-28 (.250 avg) during that stint. Shortstop Freddy Galvis has tallied a .375 average with five doubles, a homer and seven RBI in his last 10 games for the IronPigs.  The 23-year-old sported a .207 average in 54 games with the Phillies earlier this season. Double-A Reading- In his past eight games, outfielder Kelly Dugan is batting .344 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI.  The 22-year-old lefty hitter has posted a .305/.380/.500 combined line in 70 games at Class A Advanced Clearwater and Reading this season...

After a troublesome beginning (5.71 ERA in 10 games) to 2013 with Class-A Advanced Clearwater, righty reliever Mike Nesseth is having a strong campaign with Double-A Reading this year, posting a 1-1 record with three saves, a 1.96 ERA and a .204 batting average against. With teammate Kyle Simon sidelined with an injury, Nesseth, who stands 6-foot-5 and is listed as weighing 210 pounds, took over the closer role and has been very solid for the Fightins. The Minnesota native was drafted in the 17th round in 2010, while already recovering from Tommy John surgery.  After a somewhat delayed start to his pro career, Nesseth entered this season with a 3.07 ERA in 53 professional games over three seasons. I spoke with Mike recently about his change of roles within the bullpen, his boost in velocity, players he looked up to as a youngster and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. - Mike, you've landed in the closer role here for Reading recently.  What can...