Royals second baseman Alberto Callaspo, the subject of offseason trade rumors, was honored Friday afternoon as this year&rsquo;s winner of the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award. </p><p>The Burke Award is named in honor of the club&rsquo;s former general manager and president. It dates to 1971 and has evolved in recent years to a way of recognizing a player who is not selected as the club&rsquo;s player or pitcher of the year. It is not dispensed every year. </p><p>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. </p><p>&ldquo;Alberto had a special year, especially at the plate, and truly deserves this honor,&rdquo; manager Trey Hillman said. &ldquo;He was a consistent and reliable performer who seemed to have a knack for big hits in key situations.&rdquo; </p><p>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&rsquo;s recent acquisition of second baseman Chris Getz from the Chicago White Sox. </p><p>The special achievement award is determined through a vote by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers&rsquo; Association of America. The same organization selects the club&rsquo;s player and pitcher of the year, which will be announced next week. </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Minor signing</span></strong></p><p>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.</p><p>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. The signing appears to be a move to add organizational depth.</p><p>Bellorin (pronounced bay-yoh-REEN) batted .277 with a .308 on-base percentage last season in 57 games at Class AAA Colorado Springs.</p><p>Rumors continue to link the Royals to Dodgers minor-league catcher A.J. Ellis.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Arbitration eligibles</span></strong></p><p>The Royals have nine players who are eligible for arbitration. Clubs can avoid the possibility of arbitration with eligible players by choosing not to offer a contract before Dec. 12. Players not offered contracts before that date become free agents.</p><p>The Royals&rsquo; nine pending arbitration cases and 2009 salaries:</p><p>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.