White Sox Poach Brewers Scout for Draft Role

Chicago White Sox fans will see a new face leading their draft operations this winter. The team is expected to hire Matt Roffe, a long-time executive with the Milwaukee Brewers, to head domestic scouting. This move places a key decision-maker from a recent World Series champion into a role that has been empty for three months.

Roffe has spent the last five years with Milwaukee. He was promoted to assistant director of domestic scouting there in November 2025. The White Sox have not yet made a formal announcement of his hire. General Manager Chris Getz previously indicated the organization was seeking a director of amateur acquisitions, though Roffe's specific title has not been finalized.

The position became vacant in September when amateur scouting director Mike Shirley resigned. Sources described an internal investigation into Shirley's personal conduct as the reason for his departure. Shirley had overseen the selection of UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft just two months before he left.

Getz has largely rebuilt the baseball operations department since taking over in August 2023. He has hired three assistant general managers, new directors for hitting and pitching, and a new special assistant for international operations. Shirley was one of the few executives from the previous Ken Williams and Rick Hahn era who remained in the organization.

Multiple internal candidates for the scouting director role were interviewed this month. However, the team chose to look outside its own staff. This approach aligns with statements Getz made in September about how the department would operate going forward.

"We're looking at a lot of different ways, we've been doing that for a while, not just a clear restructure, but a different way of doing business on that front," Getz said in September. "If that means you're going outside of the organization, so be it."

Roffe's public profile remains low compared to other front office figures. His selection reflects the White Sox strategy of emulating the Brewers' model of thriving with a lower payroll. The Brewers are currently World Series champions, having built their roster through strong player acquisition and development rather than financial dominance.