The St. Louis Cardinals have granted Aledmys Diaz permission to leave the team to attend a private memorial service for childhood friend Jose Fernandez.
Diaz flew Monday morning to Florida from Chicago, where the Cardinals finished their road trip Sunday night, and then got back to Busch Stadium midway through Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Diaz and Fernandez grew up on the same street in Santa Clara, Cuba.
"That was the place where he needed to be today. He doesn't need to be thinking about us right now," Mike Matheny said. "He needed to get back there and be with his family and be with his friend's family and make sure that he's all in. When he gets back here, he'll be all in."
Via Mark Saxon/ESPN