“He was crying and saying, ‘I’m not going to let you go by yourself,’” Fernandez said. “I just was screaming. My roommates were screaming late at night. We didn’t care if somebody woke up. We were just happy. I cried. It was something I worked hard all my life, and now I’m here.”
In a move that was rewarding for a breakout prospect and revealing for the relievers in the bullpen, the Cardinals added Fernandez to the 40-man roster and active roster on Tuesday afternoon. To make room for the 22-year-old righthander the Cardinals designated lefty Adalberto Mejia for assignment with the intent of moving him to Class AAA Memphis.