ARLINGTON -- Earlier this week, the Rangers won for the 1,000th time since Jon Daniels became a general manager a dozen years ago. Next week, he turns the ripe old age of 40.

He is becoming a wise, middle-aged man.

Wise enough, for example, that he refuses to be pushed full-scale into one category or another, especially at the trade deadline. Two years ago, when everybody thought he should have sold, he bought. Three weeks ago he staged a mini-selloff, and yet his team stands just 11/2 games out of the second wild-card spot. He is not surprised.

Just because you sell something doesn't necessarily make you a seller.

"We learn these lessons all the time, but we never really heed them," he said Friday, before the Rangers lost 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox. "I just don't think you can very often make definitive statements: buyer, seller, winner, loser. Things change. Teams get better. The [deadline] is not necessarily a static moment. These are people, and things can change. You can't lose sight of that."

The Rangers traded Yu Darvish at the deadline because the intersection of the team's potential chances and the return tilted the situation to "sell." They traded Jonathan Lucroy because, quite frankly, he had struggled under the weight of a contract season. They traded Jeremy Jeffress, mostly as a favor, rather than just release him.

While there were offers, albeit minimal ones, on other veterans, Daniels decided he wasn't going to just dump guys to save money. He could have traded Andrew Cashner or perhaps Mike Napoli, saved some money, ensured the season was lost and gotten no tangible return. But what would be the point other than to scuttle whatever was left of the season?

If the return wasn't worthwhile, he'd still take his chances with what he had in an American League race that refused to leave the Rangers in the dust.

"I think our guys get it," Daniels said. "Our track record is pretty clear. When we've had the opportunity to, we've acted. This was a tough call. But it didn't warrant dumping dollars just to dump dollars. I wanted to give the team whatever chance we could."

The Rangers lost the first two games after the Darvish deal, which is to be expected. It was still a gut punch for a veteran team. But they are, as we just mentioned, a veteran team. They have tasted champagne. They also know how miserable it is to just play things out. They responded with 10 wins in 14 games heading into Friday.

They are a flawed team. That is obvious by the record. That they are a veteran team in a crowded race full of inexperience, though, is an advantage. Their schedule gives them 10 games against the Los Angeles Angels, currently holding the second wild-card spot, over the final 41 games. They have 15 games remaining against teams 10 games -- or more -- below .500. That includes the final four games of the season, at home, against Oakland, owner of the AL West's worst record. There is a path there.

And now comes the next question: Do the Rangers switch gears again?

There are still two weeks until playoff roster pools become set. They can make trades, provided the player clears waivers or if they have the prevailing claim.

They can, but they probably won't.

If it's not wise to broadly paint yourself as a "buyer" or a "seller," it's also not a great idea to change your mind every couple of weeks.

"I think it's unlikely," Daniels said of making any August additions. "The reality is more and more players are blocked [on waivers], and we've been part of that, too. That's just how it is. Our most likely additions will be to get Jake Diekman and Keone Kela back to help our bullpen."

Getting them back might not be huge difference-makers, but then again, because the Rangers didn't completely give up on the season, they don't need guys to make a huge difference. A little might just do.

CORRECTION, 11:30 a.m. Monday: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Oakland Athletics had the worst record in the American League -- the Athletics have the worst record in the AL West. The Chicago White Sox have the AL's worst record.