Fernández began his career in 1951 as a bright prospect for the Dodgers, reaching the Triple-A level in his third professional season.

But he was not able to break into the Dodger lineup, which featured future Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese as shortstop and anchor of its infield.

The Dodgers, en route to the National League (NL) pennant, went 6–4 over that span, but Reese returned to shortstop on July 24, and Fernández started only five more games through the end of the 1956 season.

With a young Dick McAuliffe ready to assume the shortstop position for the Tigers, Detroit traded Fernández to the New York Mets in May 1963.

Fernández was then traded to the Chicago White Sox in April 1964, but he never appeared in a regular season game for the ChiSox.