NEW YORK -- The Yankees are preparing to make history with the addition of Rachel Balkovec, who will become one of the first female full-time hitting coaches hired by a big league organization, The New York Times reported on Friday evening.

The 32-year-old Balkovec signed her contract on Nov. 8, according to the Times, and is slated to report to the Yankees¡¯ Spring Training complex in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1. Balkovec is expected to be based in Tampa and will serve as a roving instructor throughout the organization.

Earlier on Friday, the Cubs announced the hiring of Rachel Folden as the lead hitting lab tech and fourth coach for their Rookie-league Mesa affiliate.

Yankees hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson told the Times that the club hired Balkovec based on her qualifications, which include two master¡¯s degrees in the science of human movement and experience at several Minor League clubs.

¡°It¡¯s an easy answer to why we chose Rachel for this role,¡± Lawson told the newspaper. ¡°She¡¯s a good hitting coach, and a good coach, period.¡±

A product of Omaha, Neb., Balkovec earned recognition as a part-time strength and conditioning coach in the Cardinals¡¯ organization in 2012, prompting her appointment as the Minor League strength and conditioning coordinator for the Cardinals from 2014-15. As such, she became the first woman to hold a full-time strength and conditioning position in affiliated baseball.

Having previously played as a catcher on the softball teams at Creighton University and New Mexico, Balkovec served as the Astros¡¯ Latin American strength and conditioning coach in 2016. Two years later, she advanced to become the strength and conditioning coach for Double-A Corpus Christi in Houston¡¯s organization.

Since August, Balkovec has been researching eye tracking for hitters and hip movement for pitchers at Driveline Baseball, a data-driven performance training center in Washington state. The Yankees tabbed Driveline¡¯s Sam Briend this past summer to head their organizational pitching blueprint, and Balkovec hopes to apply her expertise to the club¡¯s hitters.

¡°During the interview process, I was blown away by the Yankees hitting staff,¡± she said. ¡°They are making aggressive operational changes to compete in the rapidly changing landscape of player development.¡±