The White Sox made the hiring of Matt Roffe official on Thursday, confirming a couple of smaller details along the way. He's indeed the club's new director of amateur scouting, so the Sox didn't invent an alternative title for him. They also included the correct pronunciation of his name -- ROW-fay -- which is appreciated for those of us who made our stabs at saying his name aloud and missed.
The cloud of harassment allegations under which previous director Mike Shirley resigned didn't reflect well on the organization, but that Shirley's departure was tied to behavior instead of performance means that Roffe doesn't have to express a plan of remaking the department upon arrival.
Unlike when others like Josh Barfield or Brian Bannister came aboard, Roffe didn't have to talk about believing in a vision that wasn't yet realized in many (or any) areas. There was a little more talk about blending analytics this time around since Roffe is a product of the Statcast ranks, but it's not like the White Sox aren't already doing that.
Otherwise, when Roffe talks about the positive impressions of the people above him...
"Chris [Getz], Carlos, Josh Barfield, Matt Grabowski, David Keller. All these people, Gene Watson, were involved in the interview process. It was very thorough. It was just an enjoyable process to go through, and I felt like the organization has made great strides over the last two years"
... and the people who he'll be overseeing ...
"[I] had an opportunity to speak with Garrett Guest today, which was awesome; going to lean on him and many others heavily throughout this process. I've only heard good thing from the Brewers staff about all the scouts with the White Sox. Now that I'm here and part of this, I'm just excited to get to know people on a personal level and work together as a team to accomplish bringing another World Series championship back to the South Side. This is a dream come true."
... you can believe him. Sure, it's always a little dicey when a White Sox executive references championships, but Roffe just got done participating in a parade, so you can't blame him for titles being front of mind.
CHSN ratings up
Speaking of more pleasant times to hire, Jeff Agrest framed the White Sox's TV ratings, which look even more impressive when seeing how the Bulls and Blackhawks have started their seasons by making compelling cases against the salary cap.
On CHSN’s linear and streaming platforms, Sox games averaged 84,800 viewers per game, a major-league best 168% increase from last year and the team’s biggest audience since 2022. That audience grew throughout the season, with games in August and September averaging 112,000 viewers, a 78% increase from March, April and May.
The 2022 season followed a playoff season. Barring a lockout, another increase could be in the offing. With the Bulls and Blackhawks struggling, CHSN really needs a baseball season.
Back when the White Sox let Jason Benetti jump to Detroit without a fight, part of me wondered whether the team saw plummeting ratings and drew conclusions -- wrong ones, in my opinion -- about the worth of continuing a contentious relationship through the end of the contract. In the process, they underestimated the difficulty in changing horses in the middle of a riptide, and somebody as unseasoned in calling games for one team in one market as John Schriffen never stood a chance.
That said, when looking at ratings trends, the quality of the broadcast itself is a tertiary factor behind team quality and distribution, which Benetti has lived the last two years in Detroit according to the Sports Business Journal.
The Giants, Royals and Tigers had the sharpest declines among all MLB teams. Games on NBC Sports Bay Area were down a league-worst 32% in 2026 -- all while the future of NBC Sports’ involvement in the RSN ownership business remains a question. The Royals, under the MLB umbrella, were down 31%.
The Tigers, who moved from FanDuel Sports Network to Detroit SportsNet under the MLB umbrella this year, were down 24%. That drop came amid a disappointing season for the team, which saw a league-leading 112% increase in 2025.
But now that CHSN and the White Sox have figured out a path forward after a couple years in the post-bubble RSN wilderness, there should be nothing in the way of making an enviable choice for the broadcast booth.
