The White Sox are looking north for their next scouting leader.
Chicago is expected to hire Milwaukee Brewers assistant director of domestic scouting Matt Roffe to oversee its domestic draft operations, according to several league sources. The team has not formally announced the move, and Roffe’s specific title remains undetermined. He would fill the opening created by Mike Shirley’s resignation in September.
The move also continues an encouraging trend under general manager Chris Getz: looking outside
the organization for fresh ideas and leadership. Roffe would arrive from the newly crowned World Series champion Brewers, whose ability to identify and develop talent has helped them succeed without a hefty payroll. That makes Milwaukee a sensible place for the White Sox to look as they work to build sustained success of their own.
An executive’s résumé doesn’t guarantee that his former organization’s success will follow him to Chicago. Still, bringing in someone who has worked within Milwaukee’s scouting operation is reason for optimism.
Roffe spent the past five seasons with Milwaukee, working his way through scouting operations before reaching his most recent position. The Brewers’ 2023 media guide listed him as their scouting operations coordinator.
His résumé includes experience across several areas of baseball operations. Before returning to Milwaukee, Roffe worked as an analyst in player personnel and pro scouting for the Arizona Diamondbacks from November 2019 through October 2021. That followed a baseball operations internship with the Brewers in 2019 and a baseball research and development internship with the San Diego Padres in 2018. While attending college, he also interned in MLB’s Statcast and labor relations departments.
Together, those stops give Roffe a background spanning research, technology and player evaluation. How he applies that experience to Chicago’s scouting department will be one of the more interesting parts of the eventual announcement.
Roffe graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018, majoring in finance and minoring in sports analytics. He also spent time on the Bears’ baseball roster. His freshman season included one appearance and one at-bat, going hitless as a pinch hitter against the University of Chicago on May 9, 2015. WashU won, 13-1.
Now, his next Chicago connection would come with considerably more responsibility: helping the White Sox identify the players who will shape their future.
