The expectation around Major League Baseball was that the Rule 5 draft would be much different in 2020 than in years past. That was based on the fact that there was not a minor league season in 2020, so teams could not see players develop in other organizations. That turned out to be very wrong, as the Dodgers alone lost out on 8 of their own prospects.
The Rule 5 draft opens up non-40-man rostered players to be taken by other organizations. Clubs must pay $100,000 per player selected in the Major League portion of the draft. If he does not stay on the MLB roster for the full season, then he must be offered back to his team for half of that cost.