Royals notebook | Callaspo wins special achievement award

Royals second baseman Alberto Callaspo, the subject of offseason trade rumors, was honored Friday afternoon as this year’s winner of the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award.

The Burke Award is named in honor of the club’s former general manager and president. It dates to 1971 and has evolved in recent year to a way of recognizing a player who is not selected as the club’s player or pitcher of the year.

It is not dispensed every year.

Callaspo, 26, batted .300 with a .356 on-base percentage last season in his first year as a full-time starter in the big leagues. He also had 11 homers and 73 RBIs while scoring 79 runs in 155 games.

“Alberto had a special year, especially at the plate, and truly deserves this honor,” manager Trey Hillman said. “He was a consistent and reliable performer who seemed to have a knack for big hits in key situations.”

Callaspo is viewed as a likely trade candidate as the Royals seek to revamp their roster after a disappointing 65-97 season. Those rumors increased after the club’s recent acquisition of second baseman Chris Getz from the Chicago White Sox.

The special achievement award is determined through a vote by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The same organization selects the club’s player and pitcher of the year, which will be announced next week.

Callaspo is currently playing for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. He is batting .240 with six hits and seven RBIs in 25 at-bats in seven games.

Minor signing

The Royals acquired a minor-league catcher Friday but not the one often cited in recent trade rumors. The club reached agreement on a minor-league deal with Edwin Bellorin, who played the last three years in the Colorado organization.

Bellorin, 27, is a nine-year professional who spent most of the last four seasons at Class AAA. His big-league experience consists of eight games spaced over the last three years. He played in the Dodgers’ system before signing three years ago with the Rockies.

The signing appears to be a move to add organizational depth.

Bellorin (pronounced bay-yoh-REEN) batted .277 with a .308 on-base percentage last season at Class AAA Colorado Springs with one homer and 28 RBIs in 57 games. He is currently batting .306 with four homers and 16 RBIs for La Guaira in Venezuela.

Rumors continue to link the Royals to Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, who spent most of the last two seasons at Class AAA.

Arbitration eligibles

The final arbitration lists came out this week with the announcement of those players who qualified under the super-two provision, which grants qualification to the top 17 percent of players who have at least two full seasons of big-league service.

Third baseman Alex Gordon was one of 10 players who qualified as a super-2, but Callaspo fell five days short. That means the Royals have nine players who are eligible for arbitration.

Gordon is one of three first-time eligibles, which generally brings a substantial increase in salary. Right-handed pitchers Robinson Tejeda and Roman Colon are also eligible for the first time.

Arbitration is open to all players with at least three but less than six full years of service. Players with more than six years of service qualify for free-agency.

Clubs can avoid the possibility of arbitration with eligible players by choosing not to offer a contract prior to Dec. 12. Players not offered contracts prior to that date become free agents, which allows them to sign with any club for a mutually agreeable price.

The Royals’ nine pending arbitration cases and 2009 salaries:

Pitcher John Bale, $1.2 million; pitcher Brian Bannister, $1.7375 million; catcher John Buck, $2.9 million; pitcher Roman Colon, $435,000; pitcher Kyle Davies, $1.3 million; third baseman Alex Gordon, $457,000; first baseman/DH Mike Jacobs, $3.25 million; pitcher Robinson Tejeda, $437,000; and pitcher Doug Waechter, $640,000.

To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, send email to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.

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