He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.

[1] Nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda", Sandoval is a two-time All-Star and has won three World Series championships with the Giants.

During the offseason, Sandoval plays for the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (VPBL).

Sandoval then re-signed with the Giants, but the Red Sox remained responsible for paying his salary through the end of the 2019 season.

After two weeks, Ciro Villalobos, a scout for the San Francisco Giants, offered Sandoval a contract, and he signed.

He had one home run and 49 RBIs with the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League that year, splitting time between first and third base.

[10] Teammate Barry Zito gave Sandoval the nickname "Kung Fu Panda"[11] (after the then-recent movie); in a Zito win on September 19, the rotund Sandoval scored a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers by acrobatically jumping over the tag of catcher Danny Ardoin.

[3][16] After 73 games played, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler wrote that Sandoval had made the most impressive transition from the Giants farm system since 1986 when Will Clark and Robby Thompson were rookies.

[20] On July 6, Sandoval hit his first career grand slam at home at AT&T Park against Sean West of the visiting Florida Marlins in a 5–4 victory.

[3] One bright spot in the season came on August 12, when Pat Burrell and Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs against Randy Wells of the Cubs in an 8–7 victory.

[28][29][30] Entering 2011, the Giants made a publicized campaign called "Operation Panda", which was aimed at getting Sandoval into better shape during the offseason.

Giants' head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said the day before Sandoval had surgery, "I guess the good news is both [hamate bones] will be gone tomorrow and he can't do it again.

"[39][40] On July 1, 2012, it was announced that Sandoval had beaten out David Wright for his second All-Star team, as the starting third baseman for the National League.

The choice was considered somewhat controversial by fans and executives (particularly Sandy Alderson), as David Wright had a significantly higher batting average than Sandoval at the time.

"[41] On July 10, at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, Sandoval highlighted the NL's five-run opening inning with the first bases-loaded triple in the history of the Midsummer Classic, off of reigning American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander.

[43][44] On September 20, he homered from both sides of the plate in a 9–2 victory over Colorado, becoming the sixth San Francisco Giant to accomplish the feat.

[49] With the Giants trailing 1–0 in the ninth inning on April 30, 2013, Sandoval hit a two-run home run against J. J. Putz to give them a 2–1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[3] On May 21, at AT&T Park and fighting the flu, he hit a 10th-inning, two-run home run against Yunesky Maya to give the Giants a 4–2 victory over Washington.

[55] With that performance, Sandoval joined Ruth, Jackson, Pujols, George Brett, and Adrián Beltré as the only players to have three-homer games in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Encouraged by several of his teammates and Giants' general manager Brian Sabean, he showed up at spring training several pounds lighter.

He also caught Royals batter Salvador Pérez's pop-up foul ball for the final out to clinch the World Series championship for the San Francisco Giants.

[68] In January 2016, Sandoval switched agents and became represented by Rick Thurman and Rafa Nieves of Beverly Hills Sports Council.

[69] Looking to improve upon his first season in Boston, an overweight Sandoval struggled in spring training, and was replaced by Travis Shaw as the starting third baseman.

On September 24, manager John Farrell told reporters that Sandoval was progressing ahead of schedule in his rehab, and could be an option for the Red Sox in the postseason should a need arise, as the team did acquire Aaron Hill during the season to help with third base depth.

[72] Sandoval also made an effort at improving his fitness, losing 15 pounds by August while working at the Red Sox facility in Fort Myers.

Through 108 plate appearances, Sandoval continued his struggle from the 2015 season, hitting just .212 for the Red Sox before being placed on the 10-day disabled list on June 20 with an inner ear infection.

[82] He made the opening day roster out of spring training as a bench player, likely as a backup to newly acquired third baseman Evan Longoria.

Two days before having Tommy John surgery, he came off the injured list to make a final appearance for retiring manager Bruce Bochy on September 1, 2019.

[98][99] Sandoval was traded to the Cleveland Indians on July 30 in exchange for Eddie Rosario and cash considerations,[100] and was immediately released.

He attributes his success to his faith, saying it is important to be "seizing the opportunities offered in life by God and the need to fight tirelessly, not to survive but to excel.