[1] He made his professional debut in the Mexican League with the Diablos Rojos del México in 1983, playing only five games.

[2] On 1 May 2001, Fernández tied Héctor Espino's Mexican League record of 1,505 career runs in a game against the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna at the Foro Sol, that the Diablos won 6–5.

[5][6] Initially serving as a player-manager, he announced his retirement as a player after the season opener against the Guerreros de Oaxaca at the Foro Sol on 19 March 2008.

The Diablos went on to beat the Sultanes de Monterrey 4–1 in the Serie del Rey, claiming the 2008 Mexican League championship -the fifteenth in their history- in Fernández's debut season as manager.

They lost the South Division championship series 2–4 to the Tigres de Quintana Roo, that went on to win that year’s Mexican League title.

[22] On 2 May 2013, he was sacked along hitting coach Juan Carlos Canizales due to poor results, as the Leones had 17–17 record.

[25][26] Palacios had served as interim manager for seven games, leading the team to a 4–3 record, after replacing Mario Mendoza, who was fired following an 11–13 start.

[29] In December 2017, Fernández was appointed manager of the Piratas de Campeche ahead of the 2018 season, that was played in a two-tournament format.

On 30 July 2018, 24 games into the second tournament, Fernández was sacked with a 10–14 record; he was replaced by hitting coach Rómulo Martínez as interim manager.

[31][32] On 9 August 2018, Fernández joined the Guerreros de Oaxaca as bench coach under manager Sergio Omar Gastélum.