NASHVILLE — Newly elected Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland said he’s still haunted by Game 2 of the 2013 American League Championship Series, when David Ortiz famously hit an eighth-inning grand slam to tie the game and swing the series in Boston’s favor.

During his press conference at the Winter Meetings, Leyland said he had both closer Joaquin Benoit and Phil Coke warmed up with two outs in the eighth and Ortiz on deck. Cook had been pretty good against Ortiz, Leyland said, but he also hadn’t pitched much and was a little wild, so he decided to hand the ball to his closer, who promptly allowed one of the most famous home runs in Red Sox history.

“That’s the one that I’ve tossed and turned a little bit about,” Leyland said. “I’m not sure today if I made the right decision or not. I think I did because I went to my best relief pitcher, the guy who I felt had the ability to make the best pitch, but it could be a question.”

In other baseball news:

The Red Sox have hired Justin Willard as their new director of pitching. Willard spent the last three seasons as the Minnesota Twins’ pitching coordinator and prior to that served as an assistant coach for Concord University and Radford University. The hire was first reported by Julian McWillians of The Boston Globe. … The Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves swung the first deal of the Winter Meetings late Sunday night, with the Mariners shipping 24-year-old outfielder Jarred Kelenic and two others to the Braves in exchange for right-handers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. Kelenic is a former top prospect once ranked No. 4 in baseball but has struggled to find his footing through three MLB seasons. … The Red Sox announced their 2024 Flex Pax will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at redsox.com/soxpax.